The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking like one of the top teams in the country and they have the chance to move up in the standings over Florida State if the Seminoles slip up and they put a long unbeaten streak on the line on Saturday against Big Ten rival Illinois and the matchup will be on ESPN at Memorial Stadium starting at 12 pm and streaming online from the WatchESPN website.
The Buckeyes come into the game feeling a bit disrespected by the BCS and they are coming off of a 56-0 win over Purdue and are ranked third in the nation behind FSU and they have the chance to move up for a shot at Alabama if the Seminoles lose and with the distraction of Jameis Winston and his assault case coming, that could be what knocks things off. The Buckeyes are 9-0 this season and are undefeated in the Big Ten as well, while Illinois comes in with a 3-6 record and they are winless in the conference and now it will be tough to win, even at home. Braxton Miller has been very good this season and passed for 233 yards last game over Purdue and now the team has just three games left with the Illini, with a home game coming against Indiana before playing on the road against the Michigan Wolverines to finish the season and that could be huge with national implications for both sides to end the year.
Check here for the Ohio State and Illinois live stream coverage.
Head coach Urban Meyer has put the program in national championship position and they have two more games after playing Illinois and after running through the Big Ten this season, they likely will be in the BCS when it's all said and done. The team has not lost since Meyer has come to the school and now they have the chance for an undefeated season and that could make things crazy in the final year of the BCS with Alabama and Florida State also undefeated ahead of the Buckeyes. The team has won games over Wisconsin and Northwestern as ranked teams this season and they also blew out Penn State and California earlier this year and now the Wolverines are the toughest opponent left on the schedule.
The Buckeyes are currently ranked eighth in the nation in rushing yards per game with over 300 per contest and they are averaging over 500 yards total each game and the scoring offense and defense are both ranked in the top 10 in the nation, with Miller directing and offense that is scoring nearly 50 points per game and just under 20 points on defense allowed per game and that will be a big factor going forward the rest of the year. Miller has over 1,300 yards passing and 15 touchdowns and Hyde is leading the team in rushing with over 700 yards and the team is tops in the Leaders division, while Michigan State is tops at 5-0 in the Legends division and that matchup could be very good and behind Michigan State is Nebraska and Minnesota. OSU has a lead over Wisconsin at 5-0 while the Badgers are 4-1 on the season and 7-2 overall and now the team puts it on the line against the Illini.
The team is fifth in the division and are coming off of a loss to Indiana and the team will next play against Purdue on the road after playing Ohio State and the game against the Buckeyes will be hard to stay in or win and it would be one of the biggest upsets of the season. Illinois has been up and down all season and they have lost five straight games all in the Big Ten and they last won against Miami of Ohio and they have lost the past two games on the road and the last two games at home and now they host the Buckeyes at Memorial Stadium starting up at 12:00 pm noon and to finish the season the team plays against Purdue away from home and then at Memorial against Northwestern, who have slumped hard this season.
