CHAMPAIGN, IL — The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes took advantage of mistakes to beat No. 17 Illinois, 34-16, in Champaign, Illinois, on Saturday.
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The Buckeyes forced and recovered two fumbles and intercepted Illini quarterback Luke Altmeyer once. OSU scored 21 points off those turnovers.
Julian Sayin passed for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Sonny Styles led the Buckeye defense with 10 tackles, including eight solos.
Ohio State improves to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten.
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The Buckeyes drove to the Illinois 8 to start the game, and Jayden Fielding’s 26-yard field goal gave them a 3-0 lead.
Payton Pierce intercepted a Luke Altmeyer pass, and OSU started at the Illinois 43. C.J. Donaldson Jr. capped it with a one-yard touchdown run to extend it to 10-0 after one quarter.
Fielding made his second field goal from 31 yards out to increase the advantage to 13-0 with 6:43 left until halftime. Kayden McDonald forced and recovered a fumble for Ohio State. Bo Jackson caught a swing pass and ran 17 yards for a touchdown that expanded the advantage to 20-0. The Illini added a field goal to cut the lead to 20-3 at halftime.
Illinois got closer in the third quarter as Aidan Laughery scored off a 1-yard pitch on fourth down, cutting it to 20-10. Ohio State responded as Donaldson scored his second touchdown to give them a 27-10 lead after three.
Sayin connected with Jeremiah Smith for a two-yard score in the back right corner of the end zone to increase it to 34-10. Illinois added another touchdown to cap the scoring.
Ohio State’s next game will be on Oct. 18 at Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, at 3:30 p.m.
The game will be televised nationally on CBS here on Channel 7.
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