COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — – Ohio State offensive lineman Jack Mewhort vividly recalls the last time the Buckeyes played at Illinois.
He remembers the swirling winds. He remembers the conservative game plan. But mostly he remembers that the Buckeyes only completed one pass and won the game.
“That’s crazy to me,” he said.
Now the third-ranked Buckeyes are headed back to Champaign, Ill. A lot has changed since they only attempted four passes while running the ball 51 times.
And, no, Woody Hayes was not the coach.
The game unfolded on Oct. 15, 2011, with Illinois unbeaten at the time – 6-0, 2-0 Big Ten – and the Buckeyes struggling through an awful year that would result in a 6-7 record – their most losses in a season since 1897.
My, how times have changed.
This year the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0) are leading their division of the Big Ten and are among the handful of teams in the midst of the talk about the national championship. They’ve won a nation’s best 21 games in a row and can tie the school record – belonging to the revered teams of 1967-69 – of 22 straight victories.
Illinois (3-6, 0-5) has fallen on hard times, having lost 19 consecutive Big Ten games.
Continue Reading: Ohio St.-Illinois Preview
