#4 Ohio State (10-1, 6-1) 41 - Illinois (0-10, 0-7) 6
Game Photos Below
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With this victory over winless Illinois in cold and snowy Ohio
Stadium, OSU reached a milestone with its 700th victory in 108 years
of football. (Check out the "Trivia in the Making" question, below, to find
out the overall record, since OSU started playing.) Surely, the team is glad to get the Illini and
the milestone out of the way, so the focus can now be on Michigan
only. TB Pepe Pearson (15-111, 2TD's on runs of 4 and 40 yards) and WR's Dee Miller (5 catches for 103 yards) and David Boston (3-26, 2 TD's on passes of 17 and 4 yards from QB's Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine respectively. With those three receptions, he is now within two of Cris Carter's season record of 69) led the way for an OSU offense that did just enough for a blowout before being replaced in favor of a host of reserves that finished the game. The other Buckeye scores were: TE Steve Wisniewski caught a nine yard TD pass from QB Stanley Jackson, and CB Ahmed Plummer returned an INT 83 yards for a TD, his first of his career, which extended Ohio State's streak of seven straight games in which they have scored in the final minute before halftime. The defense dominated as usual, allowing no points in the game. The six points the Illini scored were the result of CB Trevor Starghill's 38 yard TD on a return of a fumble by OSU's 4th string QB Steve Gehlert. Since the tough ending at Penn State, Ohio State's "Silver Bullet" defense has only allowed one TD in the last 20 quarters for the season. They have returned 19 interceptions for a record of 549 yards, passing the previous mark of 428 in 1986. This game for the Bucks was sluggish at times with the awful weather no doubt playing a part. Three turnovers, a missed FG, a Blocked punt, and a bad snap on an extra point attempt will give the Buckeyes some extra things to work on to get ready for the Wolverines. Illinois had a couple of bright spots: TB, Robert Holcombe, carried the pigskin 32 times for 143 yards, becoming only the second running back to go over 100 yards in a game against the Bucks this season. QB Mark Hoekstra accomplished an opponent first against the Buckeye defense this year - completing more than 50% of his passes on 19-34-2 for 146 yards. No Ohio State opponent starting QB reached 50% until Saturday. Most of Hoekstra's throws were of the dump-off for a short gain variety. Finally, it's Michigan week! With the undefeated Wolves ranked #1 in the AP poll and dominating teams with good defense, ball-control, and efficient passing, the Bucks will have a tremendous task ahead of them. They can pull off the upset, but a wide-open and flawless game in all areas will be what is needed to come out with a win. |
  In the 1997 OSU -vs- Illinois game this victory for OSU marked a milestone with the school's 700th victory in 108 years
of football. After this game what is the OSU record, since they started playing in 1890?Answer below. |
 Below, check out a few pictures taken at the game. We hope to get a "fan's eye view" of several games this season by posting pictures taken by fans. If you have pictures from a recent game and would like us to post them on the TriviaZone site, please contact us at oasys@primenet.com for more details. |
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Check out our pregame run-down, below.
Illinois (0-9, 0-6) at #4 Ohio State (9-1, 5-1)
| This page is dedicated to pregame commentary and predictions. You, too, can offer your comments on our ChatZone page, here. |
| OSU | Ill. |
| Wyoming 24-10 | S. Mississippi 7-24 |
| BGSU 44-13 | At Louisville 14-26 |
| Arizona 28-20 | Washington St. 22-35 |
| At Missouri 31-10 | At Iowa 10-38 |
| Iowa 23-7 | Penn St. 6-41 |
| At Penn State 27-31 | At Wisconsin 7-31 |
| Indiana 31-0 | Purdue (HC) 3-48 |
| Northwestern (HC) 49-6 | At Indiana 6-23 |
| At Michigan State 37-13 | Northwestern 21-34 |
| At Minnesota 31-3 |
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The Illinois Fighting Illini have struggled the last few years, but none worse than this season. The numbers are ugly: the offense has scored 96 points all year, while the defense has given up a whopping 300 points. The numbers will get worse this week going to OSU. There hasn't been much fight in the Illini lately. The fans in Champaign have to be patient. New head coach, Ron Turner, (Norv's brother and Chicago Bear offensive coordinator from 1993-1996) will have his hands full while he inserts a whole new system on both sides of the ball. He is a good coach, but needs time to recruit better players. Key Players on Offense for Illinois: TB Robert Holcombe (1,027 yards on 239 carries this season, 1281 yards last year) and WR, Lenny Willis (28 receptions for 283 yards). Key Players on Defense: De Fred Wakefield (4 sacks) and OLB, Michael Young (67 tackles). The Buckeyes are probably glad the Illini are down. Their record against them in the last ten years is not good, going 4-6 over that period of time. Most of the games have been fiercely competitive battles with the Bucks getting the short end of the deal in most of the contests. The last two seasons have been good to Ohio State in this series, pounding Illinois 41-3 in 1995, and 48-0 last year. OSU would like nothing better than to stay focused (Not looking ahead to the all-important showdown with Wolverines the following week) and give the Illini another pounding. This could be a good game for the Bucks to work on a few things: 1. Pass Protection- has been poor all season long, giving up 34 sacks, the worst in the Big Ten. 2. The Running Game- was non-existent against Minnesota with 106 yards on 35 carries. We will have to be able to run with some effectiveness to upset Michigan. 3. The Quarterback Position- it might be important to get out to a big lead early and let starting QB Stanley Jackson get more playing time. He has been struggling moving the team of late, but one has to remember he has not been 100% healthy with a strained knee that requires him to wear a brace to protect it. That limits his elusiveness. Prediction: OSU 42 - 7 Save some points for the "Big House", guys!! |
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Today's Trivia in the Making Answer: 700-274-53.