Ohio State Football: Buckeyes clinch Big Ten East with Illinois blowout

Ohio State football had no problem with Illinois on Saturday, blowing out the Fighting Illini to clinch the Big Ten East.

The Ohio State Buckeyes clinched their spot in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, pummeling the Illinois Fighting Illini 52-14 in Columbus.

The Buckeyes had no problem putting this one away early as they scored points on their first six possessions of the game, leading 28-0 after the first quarter and 38-0 at halftime.

A snowy and wet second half slowed the onslaught down as both teams scored 14 points in half No. 2. Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett threw for just 141 yards, but had two touchdowns through the air one on the ground. The Illini could not stop the Buckeyes’ rushing attack, as six different Ohio State players had at least 20 yards on the ground, with Mike Weber leading the way with 108 yards and Antonio Williams ending with 74.

Ohio State finished the game with 543 total yards, 325 on the ground.

Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Buckeyes was their defense. Illinois only mustered 105 total yards and seven points on offense. The Illini’s other seven points came from a fumble recovery forced by their defense.

While it was against arguably the worst team in the conference this year, it is promising to see the Buckeyes perform well on defense, as two double digit losses this season has been due to their vulnerability at times.

Ohio State will take on Michigan in Ann Arbor next week and will need to win to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. With the win over Illinois, the Buckeyes clinched at least a share of the Big Ten East title and with the tiebreaker will head to Indianapolis to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 2.

Ohio State and Wisconsin last met a year ago in Madison, with the Buckeyes winning the thriller in overtime by seven. The two met in the Big Ten title game in 2014. Ohio State won that one by a score of 59-0, earning themselves a playoff berth and ultimately winning the national championship.

Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round after Week 11 edition

With no real drama in the top 10, Ohio State’s ranking will unlikely change.