There is nothing better than being undefeated. The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes move to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten after taking care of business on the road and defeating Illinois (5-2, 2-2) by a score of 34-16.
Here are some of our grades from the Buckeyes Big Noon Kickoff win in Champaign.
A+: Winning games
I think sometimes fans get very lost in the details and forget that winning is fun. Ohio State is 6-0 and the No. 1 team in the country.
Are they perfect? No. Is this a finished product? No. But you see teams
each week lose to inferior opponents and the Buckeyes haven’t done that this season.
Winning is fun. It is okay to be happy about that. It is only October.
A+: Capitalizing on turnovers
The Buckeyes had more points off turnovers than the Fighting Illini had points total. The one interception and two fumbles caused by the Buckeyes led to 21 points on three short fields.
Turnovers are always great, but when they do not lead to points it can be deflating for the defense. However, because the Buckeyes offense continued to score points off the turnovers, the defense stayed locked in.
A: Arvell Reese
Arvell Reese continues to be not only one of the best defenders on this defense, but one of the best defensive players in the country. Reese finished this game with nine tackles, eight solo tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
He is fast, has incredible instincts and has been a perfect complement to Sonny Styles so far this season. Reese has played his way into a top 20 pick in the NFL Draft, and a lot of the defensive success so far this season has been because of the star linebacker.
A: Redzone defense
At a certain point, the redzone defense becomes a voodoo magic. On the drive before the half, the Buckeyes made three unbelievable tackles to stop Illinois from scoring
The Buckeyes went nine possessions in the redzone without giving up a touchdown, and it took until the second half of the sixth game of the season for a team to punch it in from close on the defense. This is a weapon that will only benefit them moving forward.
C: Punting game
This can probably just be put into a special teams bin as a whole, but if there is a game this season that Ohio State has to rely on the punting game to flip the field (there will be), they are in trouble.
The Buckeyes punted four times for an average of 37.6 yards per punt, had three penalties on special teams and lost yards on two punt returns. After this game, they will likely fall out of the top 100 in average yards per punt.
They have to figure that out.
F: James Franklin and Luke Fickell
I am shoehorning these two coaches into this because it is the next two head coaches of the teams that the Buckeyes play. Both of these seasons have taken a turn for the worst, and it seems very unlikely that either of these coaches will be back next season.
Tough times right now in Happy Valley and Madison.
