No. 7 Ohio State still looking to clean things up going into Big Ten opener against Illinois

Ryan Day has more than a couple areas of concern as seventh-ranked Ohio State hosts Illinois to open Big Ten Conference play on Saturday.

With three important October road tests on the horizon, Day is seeking more balance on offense, better execution in the red zone and on third down.

"I think it’s been inconsistent,” Day about the offense. “There’s been times where it’s been very good and then other times where it’s struggled. I think that the situations in particular, we’ve got stalled because we haven’t been able to finish drives in the red zone.”

The Buckeyes (2-1) are 12 of 17 scoring touchdowns in the red zone but went 2 of 5 in their 24-23 loss at No. 1 Texas on Sept. 12.

Day is more concerned with a 12 of 33 third-down conversion rate after the Buckeyes were second in the country last year at 53.2%. The 36.4% conversion rate through three games is tied for 102nd out of 138 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“Those things have got to get better fast, and I think it’s a combination of executing plays better but also looking at other things,” Day said.

After facing Illinois, the Buckeyes head to No. 17 Iowa on Oct. 3 and then host Maryland the following week. Ohio State then closes the month at fifth-ranked Indiana on Oct. 17 and No. 12 Southern California on Oct. 31.

Illinois is also 2-1. The Illini were one of the few teams to score two touchdowns against the Buckeyes during the regular season last year but still lost 34-16. Half of the players from that team are gone.

“Ohio State has familiarity. It’s a rematch game from a year ago. Obviously our special teams coordinator (Robby Discher) that was here last year is over there. So to think about the opportunities that presents, I think it’s fun to watch and be around,” said coach Bret Bielema, who is 1-6 against Ohio State from his time at Wisconsin and Illinois.

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Illinois' Collin Dixon are among the top receivers in the nation through three games.

Smith is fourth in FBS in receiving yards (400) while Dixon leads the country with seven receiving TDs and is tied for fourth with 25 receptions.

Dixon is a senior who grew up in Tallmadge, Ohio near Akron. Smith has at least five receptions in all three games but played only the first half in routs against Ball State and Kent State.

Day also wants to see more consistency out of his rushing game, which has been inconsistent so far. Senior Ja’Kobi Jackson has four touchdowns and averages 7.1 yards per carry, while sophomore Bo Jackson is averaging 5.9 yards a carry with two scores.

“We need some dudes who are running angry this week,” Day said.

Illinois quarterback Katin Houser — who played at East Carolina the past two seasons — has thrown for 758 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 74 percent of his passes.

Houser began his career at Michigan State and faced Ohio State in 2023. He was 12 of 24 for 92 yards in the Spartans' 38-3 loss.

Illinois is 12-13 in road games during Bielema's six seasons leading the program, including 2-5 when facing ranked teams.

Bielema treated one of the team's preseason scrimmages as a road game. He had the team go through a road weekend in a hotel, used the visitors locker room at Memorial Stadium and had the team on the visiting sideline.

“I really do believe in life, you learn more from being in the moment than you can ever study for it. You just got to throw it in. Anytime you can make people uncomfortable, I think you grow and that was a big part of it,” Bielema said.

Ohio State has won 10 straight in the series and has had possession of the Illibuck Trophy since 2008.

The Illibuck is a carved wooden turtle. It began in 1924 with a live turtle before it died two years later.

The Illibuck is the second oldest traveling trophy in the Big Ten, behind the Little Brown Jug between Minnesota and Michigan.

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