Saturday, November 13, 1999
Buckeyes, Illini 1 win from bowl
Each would qualify with victory today
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
What's at stake for Ohio State today? Probably a bowl bid.
If the 25th-ranked Buckeyes (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) don't win against Illinois in their final home game of the season, they probably won't go to even a second-tier bowl. A loss to the Illini (5-4, 2-4) would mean the Bucks would have to win next week in the season's final game at Michigan to finish above .500 and become eligible for a bowl.
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ILLINOIS at OSU
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• Kickoff: Noon today at Ohio Stadium (89,841), Columbus
• Records: OSU 6-4, 3-3 Big Ten; UI 5-4, 2-4
• TV: ESPN2
• Radio: WBOB-AM 1160
• Series: OSU leads 57-26-4 and won 41-0 in 1998.
• Line: OSU by 101/2
• What to watch: It's the same old story for the Buckeyes. Their passing game isn't consistent enough to carry them if the running backs are being stuffed, which they were in gaining a net of zero rushing yards against Michigan State.
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And given their recent history against the Wolverines, needing to win at the Big House is not a good position to be in.
Even Buckeyes coach John Cooper called this “a big game because it decides a bowl for us.”
That makes the Illini — a team that is rising from the Big Ten's scrap heap to harbor modest bowl aspirations — dangerous. Especially since Illinois is playing with the most confidence it has had in years after upsetting Michigan in Ann Arbor, while Ohio State is in the dumps after earning just 79 yards of total offense last week and being pasted at Michigan State 23-7.
The Bucks had zero net rushing yards last week and have struggled all season to run the ball and protect quarterback Steve Bellisari. Teams are stacking the line to stuff the run because Ohio State can't pass, and are blitzing when OSU has to throw because the Bucks can't run.
“I've already thrown out the Michigan State tapes,” Cooper said Monday. “Our inability to run the ball is one of our biggest problems. You can't win with just passing.”
When the Illini have won — as in last week's 40-24 defeat of Iowa — they've done it on the arm of sophomore quarterback Kurt Kittner, who is averaging 226 yards per game and has thrown 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions, the best TD-INT ratio in the nation. He has thrown touchdowns to 11 receivers, led by Michael Dean's four.
“The Big Ten has some very good defensive backs,” said OSU senior cornerback Ahmed Plummer, “and for him to have only two interceptions, that shows he's accurate on his throws and reads.”
Kittner completed 24 of 33 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns three weeks ago when Illinois stormed back from a 27-7 deficit at then-No.9 Michigan to win 35-29. The 20-point deficit tied the largest margin Illinois has overcome to win, and it catapulted the Illini from Big Ten doormat to a team that must be taken seriously under third-year coach Ron Turner.
Sophomore tailback Rocky Harvey carried 17 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns in that win, and the Illini defense had four sacks and two interceptions. The Illini have since lost to Penn State and beaten Iowa, and with a win today would qualify them for a bowl.
Amid reports of dissension after last week's offensive showing — their worst in 35 years — the Buckeyes are in a must-win situation.
“Every game's a must-win for us,” Cooper said. “We backed ourselves into a corner.”
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