Ohio State this weekend

“I’m not going to cry or tear up or anything”.

There is plenty of work for the Illini to do this week.

The quarterback situation at Ohio State has been a national conversation for many weeks now.

Finding a way to do those things and pulling off a win that would send shockwaves through college football could also earn Cubit the full-time gig.

According to oddsmakers at MyBookie, Ohio State is favored on the road, as the Buckeyes are getting odds of -17 points against IL on Saturday.

While the outside noise has been significant this past week, Cubit is adamant that the focus be on the players and Saturday’s contest. All that being said Ohio State can’t just mail this one in. “How are you going to handle it?” I’m most proud of how our players and the way they’re handling everything else.

“This team is going to try to establish the run, but it’s up to us to stop it”, McMillan said.

On the season, the Ohio State Buckeyes average 214.2 yards in passing and 240.6 yards in rushing. If Ohio State keeps their focus and avoids turnovers, it will be real tough for IL to pull of the upset. That is only because he has played more though. If a defense is playing well, a free safety shouldn’t be its top tackler.

After serving his one game suspension, JT Barrett stands poised to reclaim his position as starting quarterback for Ohio State (9-0, 5-0).

QUOTE TO NOTE: “Right now I’m the head coach and I’m going to act like the head coach”.

Josh Ferguson, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior, returned after a three-game absence with a shoulder injury to gain 133 yards on 12 carries against the Boilermakers. After giving up 35 points a game and 34 points a game the last two seasons, this year’s team has held opponents to 21.7 points a game. But the Illini need to run efficiently to keep the Buckeyes’ pass rush in check. Wes Lunt completed 19 of 33 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns. IL was able to finally uncork its rushing attack, racking up 382 yards after averaging 67.2 through its first four conference games.

After a 24-11 season, and with a majority of the team returning, the Buckeyes have gotten a lot of love from the media in the preseason.

But the biggest difference in this year’s Illini and Illinois’ teams of the recent past is that it can play a little defense. Can the Buckeyes realistically not look ahead to those games against ranked opposition? They can’t allow the Buckeyes to derive their normal field position advantage off exchanges of kicks and possession. Turning the tables on them with a big play in the kicking game would be highly useful.

The return of running back Josh Ferguson last week against Purdue gave the IL offense a boost.

That said all of Illinois’ wins this year have come against poor teams. This has got to make Zeke Elliot smile, as his streak of 14 games in a row with at least 100 yards rushing, keeps marching on.

Hello everyone and welcome as I help you get ready for this Saturday. Cubit raved on the effect Ferguson had, and said it is a “different offense when he is in there”. OSU was balanced but not explosive with quarterback Cardale Jones going 12-22 and a touchdown with Jalin Marshall catching two balls for 56 yards while Braxton Miller hauled in a 45 yarder.