Buckeyes 30, Fighting Illini 20

It may not have been the prettiest game we've ever seen, but it still goes in the W column, and that's what matters.

The Good
Offense
Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor both ran for more than 100 yards. Anytime you can have that in a game, you're doing something right. There were a couple plays that really stood out. It was pretty spectacular when Beanie hurdled that defender. I'm sure we'll see that highlight a lot. Brian Hartline's run on the end around was real nice. But by far, the offensive play of the game was when TP was running with the ball and pushed Brian Robiskie out of the way. That was truly awesome.
Defense
Hmmm...well, ummm...The defense did have 2 takeaways and two sacks. Ross Homan's sack was especially awesome simply because he went in there, wrapped up Juice and took him down. What was so awesome about that? Frankly, it was nice to see that a Buckeye could make a tackle. Also, the blocked punt for a safety was good to see. I'd like to see the Buckeyes go after more punts like that.

The Bad
Offense
You'd think I would put the passing game here. Wait a minute, the Buckeyes have a passing game? By the way, Michigan defenders, if I were you, I wouldn't expect the Buckeyes to run left on the first two offensive plays of the game next week.
Defense
Holy moly! The tackling in this game was terrible. The defensive line was manhandled, and it seemed like the Illini picked up 12 yards per play. OK, so it wasn't that bad. They only went for 6 yards per carry and 12 yards per completion. The Buckeyes defense gave up 455 yards to a team that has to win its last game to become bowl-eligible. Yikes!

The Ugly
See The Bad - Defense.

Under the Radar Player of the Game
This one is pretty easy, although a lot of players were definitely under the radar (yes, defensive line, I'm looking at you.) Aaron Gant gets the UtR player of the game because he blocked the punt that got the Buckeyes rolling. It's a good thing they were able to build up a 16-point lead that they could sit on.

Allow me to finish with a brief open letter to Coach Tressel.
Dear Coach Tressel,
Please, for the love of criminy, hang 50 on Michigan! And please don't grimace if the Buckeyes score late in the game to pad the margin of victory. In fact, if the Buckeyes score a late touchdown, do what Woody would have done and go for 2 points.
Sincerely,
Gone with the Schwind