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Buckeyes break losing skid
Return of Herron pays off
Yahoo Sports
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Still stuck under the NCAA cloud hanging over Ohio
State and desperate for a way to end a two-game losing streak, interim
coach Luke Fickell drew up a game plan Saturday that conservative
Buckeye legend Woody Hayes would have loved.
Keep the ball on the ground and out of freshman quarterback Braxton
Miller’s hands, lean hard on tailback Daniel Herron — playing his first
game since January after serving a pair of NCAA suspensions — and count
on the defense to stop No. 16 Illinois.
It worked, all of it, and the Buckeyes (4-3, 1-2) ground out a 17-7
upset over the Illini (6-1, 2-1).
“The game plan was to win — that’s the ultimate, most important thing,”
Fickell said. “However way we had to do it, we were ready to do it.”
The defense forced three turnovers — two of which set up the Buckeyes’
touchdowns — while Miller threw just four passes. Herron carried the
ball 23 times for 114 yards and the third-quarter score that was the
game winner.
“It was hard staying at home and watching the games,” said Herron, who
missed the season’s first six games. “Now that I’m back out here, I’m
doing everything I can to help this team, be a leader and get some more
wins.”
The loss ended Illinois’ perfect start, and, in a game the Illini hoped
would help them prove they were for real, raised questions about how
good they really are.
“We have got to regroup, and we’re still in a position to control our
own destiny,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said. “I think our guys have to
understand that and they do.”
A week after Miller lost a fumble that gave Nebraska a way to get back
into their game against Ohio State — which the Cornhuskers turned into
an epic win — the Buckeyes kept it simple, real simple, and gave
themselves a chance to win.
The Buckeyes didn’t throw their first pass until the 7:22 mark of the
second quarter. Miller, in fact, didn’t complete a pass until he hit
tight end Jake Stoneburner on a 17-yard TD pass with 13:06 left in the
game for a 17-0 lead.
Up 10-0, we were on the sideline saying, ’Man, we haven’t made a pass
yet,”’ Stoneburner said. “It was kind of funny, but we were all saying,
’Who cares?’ We’re up, and if we complete one pass, I’ll take the
catch.”
No Ohio State team had gone through a game with just one completion
since 1976, a 22-21 loss to Missouri with Rod Gerald under center.
That Ohio State team was ranked No. 2, while this one was just trying
to get its head above water, end the two-game losing streak and chalk
up its first Big Ten win.
Enter Herron, who had to sit out six games as a result of his role in a
cash-for-memorablia scandal — the mess that cost ex-coach Jim Tressel
his job — and then for taking too much money for a summer job.
Fickell said during the week he wasn’t sure how much the senior
tailback would play and he wasn’t listed as the starter.
But Herron was in the backfield from the beginning, and carried the
bulk of the load on the opening drive, one that on a day of gusty
20-plus mph winds delivered a 45-yard Drew Basil field goal. It was the
only score of the half.
The Ohio State defense, meanwhile, played big, holding an Illini
offense that was averaging almost 450 yards and 34.7 points a game to
285 yards and, until the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter, no points.
Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase was 20 of 34 for 169 yards,
with two interceptions and a late 3-yard touchdown pass to Evan Wilson
that finally put the Illini on the board. Illinois hasn’t been shutout
since losing 30-0 two seasons ago at Ohio State.
“The biggest thing when you look at this is the turnovers,” Zook said.
“In the past we’ve held teams to field goals instead of touchdowns and
they were able to get two touchdowns off of the turnovers.”
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Leaders Division
Conf. All
Penn
State
3-0 6-1
Wisconsin (4)
2-0 6-0
Illinois
(23)
2-1 6-1
Purdue
1-1 3-3
Ohio
State
1-2 4-3
Indiana
0-3 1-6
Legends Division
Conf. All
Mich. State (15)
2-0 5-1
Michigan (18)
2-1 6-1
Nebraska (13)
1-1 5-1
Iowa
1-1 4-2
Minnesota
0-2 1-5
Northwestern
0-3 2-4
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