“But I think we’ve been playing the run really good the past couple weeks, we just need to keep it up”.
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Baylor and TCU were the favorites coming into the season, but now it looks as if Bedlam will decide the Big 12.
Smile Politely: As an Ohio State reporter, you must know quite a bit about dealing with scandals. But Saturday showed that the Buckeyes are far from putting it all together.
It was only after a modest two-yard run in the fourth quarter of Ohio State’s 28-3 win over IL when Ezekiel Elliott put his name next to two Buckeyes legends.
Now comes the big exams, and attendance is mandatory.
After taking on these Fighting Illini, Ohio State will take on MI State and MI in the final two games, if they win both they’ll play in the Big Ten title game against Iowa (probably). “We have to work extremely hard on that”, he said. “This is what we’ve been training for”.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have taken a ton of flak for their offensive shortcomings this season but let’s take a step back for a second.
The Illini were 17-point underdogs on Saturday and were in position to cover the spread for much of the afternoon until the Buckeyes slowly wore down Illinois’ defense.
Meyer praised Elliott’s contributions, but he said in his mind, the only major issue with the offense was pass protection, which was part of the issue on the interception because Barrett was under duress. But he threw 47 passes and not one of them was intercepted.
But the sophomore star answered with the play of the game.
Taylor Zalewski’s 46-yard field goal early in the second quarter cut the lead to 7-3 and Ohio State’s next four series ended with three punts and a fumble. “Previous year he wasn’t”, Meyer said. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, the freshman running back, has rushed for a team-high 665 yards, including 180 against Purdue. Against IL, he finished with 27 carries for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Most likely a first round pick in next years draft, Elliott will have to battle against a rush defense that only allows 140 rushing yards per game.
Afterward, he expressed appreciation to be back on the field, calling his Halloween morning citation for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol a “selfish act”.
Seger: I can’t speak for McNabb because I haven’t seen the footage of his DUI arrest, but Barrett was nothing but cooperative during his traffic stop. All the things they were going through for three years, four years, it changed because I’m doing what I think is more comfortable on my end.
“I’m moving forward. Like I said, I extremely apologize to Buckeye Nation”.
Next week GameDay will be heading to Columbus for the showdown between Ohio State and MI State.
Silver Bullets held the Illini to 259 total yards and only 18 rushing with 15 first downs. He ran for first-half touchdowns of 10 and 14 yards, and from 3 yards in the third quarter. Barrett specifically threw for 150 yards and one score, while churning out 74 yards and another touchdown with his legs.
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“They’re real good”, Fighting Illini interim coach Bill Cubit said at a news conference.
