Ohio State vs Illinois Recap

I can't remember seeing a team win with 1 completion. It was amazing that Illinois allowed us to run basically the same play over and over without ever making any adjustments. It was nice to not be outcoached for once.

Quarterbacks: C  -  Miller did what was expected of him...which was nothing. A better grade might be incomplete, but since he did not make any big mistakes, I will give him a C.

Running Backs: A  -  I forgot how much we were missing without Boom. He runs as hard as any running back out there. He is not the biggest, fastest, or most powerful, but he is good in all those facets and he finishes every run. I hope Hyde can learn how to finish runs from watching Boom, because he will be a great one if he can get that from Herron.

Wide Receivers: B  -  How can I give a B when no there were no receptions by the receivers? Run blocking. Boom was able to bounce it outside almost at will because the receivers were blocking so well. They were not allowing the Illini corners to set the edge, which opened up some big runs.

Offensive Line:  B+  -  That was some dominating run blocking. That is the best performance from an OSU line in a long time. They finally came out knowing they were going to blow the defensive line off the ball, and then they came out and did it with a nasty attitude that has been lacking in the past. They lose the A, however, because of the continued false start penalties.

Defensive Line:  A+  -  Hankins and Simon were unbelievable. Hankins is the best defensive tackle we have had since Dan Wilkinson. He is unblockable, and I like the fact that he can play any position on the line. Simon reminds me a lot of Cam Heyward. He is relentless and always seems to make a play when one is needed. I liked seeing Bennett get a lot of PT out there too. If we had a weakside defensive end to go with Hankins, Simon, and Bennett, we would have a top 5 defensive line nationally. Even without a good end, they are still pretty damn good.

Linebackers:  C+  -  We just have to face the fact that we don't have any great linebackers for the first time in a long time. Shazier could become our next great one, but he is not there yet. Sweat was solid and Sabino didn't get caught out of position, but I would still like to see them making more plays.

Defensive Backs: A  -  They finally hung on to the ball when they had shots at interceptions. Roby played great and Travis Howard make a great interception. I liked seeing our corners up playing press man to man coverage. That is not something we have seen much with this coaching staff. Moeller, Barnett, and Bryant all had good games too.

Special Teams:  B  -  Basil is turning into a very good kicker. That was not an easy kick. Buchanan didn't have the greatest distance on his punts today, but he was consistent and got good hang time to allow our coverage teams to do well.

Coaching:  B  -  The offensive coaches realized that with the windy conditions and Illinois' very good pass rush, that it was not good conditions to make Miller make plays through the air. Add to that Illinois not adjusting to the draw play, Bollman just kept calling what was working. It was nice to see a commitment to running the ball, especially when we needed to run some clock. Bollman apparently learned from the mistakes of the 2nd half of the Nebraska game. Defensively, the coaches came up with a great gameplan. They realized Scheelhaase is not a great passer, so they pressed the receivers and committed to stopping the run and the easy passes.

Officiating:  A  -  I don't recall any bad calls...which is all I can ask from officials.

Announcers:  D  -  Is it just me, or is Bob Davie one of the most annoying announcers out there? I can't stand him.