Win Total Projection

Illini Fall to Buckeyes 34-16

Kevin Sweeney

The Illini of Illinois are a good football team. Evidence of this is the Illini becoming the first team to score double digits against the vaunted Ohio State Defense. That being said, the Illini were completely outclassed by the Buckeyes. They scored a late touchdown to make the score appear closer than the game was. Ohio State Freshman running back Bo Jackson scored another touchdown in this game against the Illini. He has become the number one option at running back for Ohio State. Do you think Ohio State will win all of its remaining games and enter the College Football Playoff undefeated and ranked first?

Illini and Buckeye Scoring Summary

In the first quarter, Ohio State placekicker Jayden Fielding kicked a 26-yard field goal, and Ohio State led 3-0. Then, C.J. Donaldson scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run. It was 10-0 Buckeyes. In the second quarter, Fielding kicked a 31 yard field goal, and the Buckeyes led 13-0. Then, freshman Bo Jackson caught his first career touchdown pass from Julian Sayin, and the Buckeyes led 20-0. The Illini kicked a field goal right before halftime to make the score 20-3. The Field goal was by David Solano, who has a great leg.

In the second half, Ohio State salted the game with the Illini away. In the third quarter, Adria Laughery scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. That made the score 20-10. Then C.J. Donaldson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run for the Buckeyes. That made the score 27-10. Then Jeremiah Smith caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. The score was 34-10. Finally, Collin Dixon caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed. So the final score ended up 34-16.

News And Notes

Illini
Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) throws a pass against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
  • Devin Sanchez made his first start of the season at cornerback (internal link) for the Buckeyes. This was the second big freshman contribution for the Buckeyes.
  • There were six representatives from the National Football League. Teams represented included the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and Minnesota Vikings.
  • Ohio State is 6-0 on the season. They are now 70-30-4 against the Illini. The Buckeyes have won ten consecutive games against the Illini.
  • The win gave the Buckeyes the Illibuck trophy 
  • The Buckeyes and the Illini were almost equal in yards gained. Ohio State had 272 yards gained and Illinois had 295 yards. That is right, Ohio State was out-gained in this game.
  • Lorenzo Styles and Eddrick Houston were among the Buckeyes not in the lineup today. Because Styles missed the game, Devin Sanchez started his first game ever as a result.
  • Bo Jackson started and had ten carries for forty-seven yards. He caught a seventeen-yard touchdown pass as well.
  • Things are not happy in Happy Valley. After beginning the year with a 3-0 record over the likes of Nevada, Florida International, and Villanova, the Nittany Lions have now fallen back to .500 following a third straight upset on Saturday. Today, the Nittany Lions fell to the Northwestern Wildcats by a 22-21 final score after closing as 21-point favorites earlier in the afternoon. What is going on?

Conclusion

The Buckeyes defeated a good opponent in the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. However, the Buckeyes did give up 16 points, a season high. The message from Ohio State’s players following the No. 1 Buckeyes’ 34-16 win over No. 17 Illinois was clear: the performance was good, but not good enough if Ohio State wants to accomplish its goals this season. That was the first time this season an opponent has scored in double digits against the Buckeyes. Their effort was good, but not good enough against the Illini. They have another winnable road game at Wisconsin next Saturday afternoon at 3:30.

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