For most in Buckeye Nation, Ohio State’s 24-13 win over Illinois was too close. In fact, here in Columbus you can feel people become worried about this team. In all honestly, who can blame them? They didn’t play well and some of the concerns surrounding them came to the forefront on Saturday. The run game needs help, the depth in the secondary is worrisome and the play calling continues to be too conservative.
With that said, for all of the bad things the Buckeyes endured they showed they could handle adversity.
Champaign has always been a tough place for Ohio State to play. It was their first road game of the season and things didn’t go as planned. Watching two of their leaders (Terrelle Pryor and Tyler Moeller) suffer injuries had to further dampen their mood. In the third quarter when Pryor went down you couldn’t help but think could this get any worse? Yet it didn’t, in fact the Buckeyes answered Illinois’ challenge.
The defense came up with big plays. After Pryor’s injury, Jermale Hines intercepted a Nathan Scheelhaase’s pass with 10:00 left in the third quarter. This set up the rest of the game. The defense played better. The offense had a crucial fourth quarter drive led by Dan Herron. Boom had 41 yards and a touchdown that put the game out of reach. Despite everything that happened, the Buckeyes executed when it counted and walked away with the win.
Sure it was an ugly win and yes, it may raise some red flags. However, there is a lot to be said about this team’s character. While their mistakes don’t exemplify a championship team, their attitude and leadership do.
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