First down
Players to watch for Illinois
1) Collin Dixon
The wide receiver from Tallmadge, Ohio has had an incredible start to his senior season.
Through the first three games, Dixon has caught 25 passes for 367 yards and seven touchdowns. Dixon not only has more touchdowns than he did last season, he is just 11 catches shy of besting his career-high of 35 passes from last year.
Heading into this week’s games, Dixon is leading college football in touchdown catches. The last Big Ten player to catch seven touchdowns through the first three games was Purdue’s
Taylor Stubbefield in 2004. With just three more receiving touchdowns, Dixon will tie the Illinois single-season school record.
2) Katin Houser
After starting his college career at Michigan State, Houser spent the last two seasons at East Carolina. Houser made the most of his time in Greenville, totaling 5,306 yards and 37 touchdown passes. With the experience he gained with the Pirates, Houser jumped back into the transfer portal to return to the Big Ten.
Houser has started off his senior season strong, completing 74 percent of his passes through the first three games, finding the end zone with eight touchdown passes and tossing just two interceptions. This marks Houser’s second start against Ohio State.
Back in 2023, Houser threw for just 92 yards in Michigan State’s 38-3 loss to the Buckeyes.
3) Matthew Bailey
Coming into the season, Matthew Bailey was the only returning player to lead his team in tackles in both 2024 and 2025. The defensive back made a combined 169 stops over the two seasons.
Bailey has a good shot at making it a three-peat, as he is currently second on the team with 14 tackles, just one behind Ismael Kante for the team lead.
Last week saw Bailey make one of the plays of his career when he intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown in the 48-10 win over Southern Illinois. Bailey now has five interceptions in his career to go along with four forced fumbles. The captain is on the Bednarik and Lott IMPACT Award watch lists.
Second down
Keys for Ohio State
1) Generate pressure
At some point Ohio State has to get their defensive line going.
This week would be a prime spot to do just that, since they’ll be going against an offensive line that not only has already started three different players at right guard this season, the group as a whole doesn’t have a ton of experience.
Quarterback Katin Houser is more of a pocket passer than Luke Altmyer was the last two years. If the Ohio State defensive line can win in the trenches and get to Houser early, it will make a massive difference.
Aside from Collin Dixon, Illinois doesn’t have much to be scared of at wide receiver, so if the Buckeyes can take away Dixon then the Fighting Illini are going to be in a lot of trouble.
2) Don’t get caught looking ahead
While the coaches and players will say Illinois have their full attention this week, it would be easy to understand if the Buckeyes weren’t looking ahead. Not only does Ohio State have a trip to Iowa next week, there are also games with Indiana and USC later in October.
With the loss to Texas, the Buckeyes don’t have as much margin for error as they would have if they wouldn’t have blown a 20-point fourth quarter lead. Illinois might not have as much star power and depth as Ohio State, but they are well-coached.
If Ohio State isn’t sharp on Saturday the Fighting Illini could make this a tighter game than many are expecting.
3) Solve the short-yardage issues
One area where the Buckeyes have really struggled since the beginning of last year is in short yardage situations. Unfortunately quarterback Julian Sayin isn’t going to put his head down and plow ahead like Will Howard did last year.
For some reason when there is only a couple yards to go, Sayin has a tendency to trip or getting stuffed at the line. That trend can’t continue in big games if Ohio State wants to win another national title.
It’s not all Sayin’s fault, though. Even the running backs have trouble picking up a yard or two when that’s all that is needed. The issue is puzzling. Maybe it is a lack of vision by the running backs, or the offensive line doesn’t get enough of a push to knock the defense back.
No matter what the root of the struggles are, the Buckeyes need to be tougher than their opponents in the trenches.
Third down
Notable Ohio State/Illinois connections
1) Lovie Smith
The former Illinois and NFL head coach spent a year in Columbus as defensive backs coach in 1995 on John Cooper’s staff. Following his season with the Buckeyes, Smith would move on to the NFL where he was the linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-2000.
After head coaching stops in the NFL in Chicago and Tampa Bay, Smith agreed to be the head coach at Illinois following the 2015 season. Unfortunately for Smith he struggled to find success in Champaign, posting at 17-39 record with just one bowl appearance. Smith was fired seven games into the 2020 season.
2) Tim Beckman
Much like Smith, Beckman spent a little time with the Buckeyes as an assistant before moving on to a head coaching position a few years down the road. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons Beckman coached Ohio State’s cornerbacks before becoming the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, followed by the head coach at Toledo.
Beckman posted a 21-16 record in three years at Toledo before agreeing to become the head coach at Illinois. During his three seasons in charge of the Fighting Illini, Beckman was just 12-25, losing the only bowl game he led the team to. Just a week before the 2015 season, Beckman was fired after allegations of player mistreatment.
3) Gene Hackman/Jimmy McGinty
Hackman attended college at Illinois before going on to have a legendary acting career. In the 2000 movie The Replacements, Hackman played Jimmy McGinty, who was hired to coach replacement players during a strike by football players.
You’re probably wondering why the tie-in to Ohio State is. In the movie, Keanu Reeves played Shane Falco, whose character played quarterback at Ohio State before a disastrous performance in the Sugar Bowl essentially ended his career. Despite being a fictional character, Falco is a beloved Buckeye quarterback.
