The further Big Ten play goes, the more value one has to place in just how thoroughly Ohio State has dominated its two conference opponents thus far.
Illinois
Fightin Illini
Pulling away on the road against Washington in the second half and eviscerating Minnesota 42-3 are not results to take for granted when a team thought to be the class of the conference entering the season, Penn State, went on the road and fell 42-37 to an 0-4 UCLA squad. The Buckeyes keep handling business, even with the big target on their backs.
The next squad to take aim is No. 22 Illinois, the second of three road games Ohio State plays in a four-week stretch. The trip to Champaign brings some caution for the No. 1 Buckeyes, but outside the Fighting Illini’s passing game, there will be obvious holes to exploit for OSU off arguably its most complete team outing yet.
Illinois picked up a decent nonconference win at Duke early in the season but got dismantled 63-10 by Indiana to open its conference slate. Since then, the Fighting Illini have responded well, knocking off then-No. 21 USC in a 34-32 thriller and handling rival Purdue on the road 43-27.
Another Quality Quarterback
Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. and Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey have both impressed at the quarterback position so far this year, even if not to the extent that Ohio State’s Julian Sayin has. But the Buckeyes face another talented thrower of the football this Saturday in Illinois senior quarterback Luke Altmyer.
Altmyer is fourth in the Big Ten for completion percentage at 73.6%. He’s racked up 1,573 passing yards in six games (Illinois has not yet had an off week) with 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. In his third and final year starting at Illinois, he’s averaging a career-best 10.6 yards per pass attempt.
The Mississippi native and former Ole Miss Rebel truly hit his stride the last two games, rattling off back-to-back 300-yard performances. He went 19-of-22 for a career-high 390 yards and one touchdown against Purdue. Altmyer rushed for 200 yards in both 2023 and 2024, but the primary threat of his legs is to maneuver or escape the pocket and buy more time for his arms.
Illinois’ primary problem in the passing game has been protecting Altmyer. The Fighting Illini have allowed a Big Ten-high 19 sacks this season, good for 3.2 sacks per game, which ranks 127th out of the FBS’ 136 teams. Five of those sacks were allowed in their blowout loss to Indiana.
Beatty is Better
Illinois wide receiver Hank Beatty is better than most, though no one in the country is better than Ohio State wideouts Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate right now.
Unlike Tate and Smith, Beatty operates primarily out of the slot, where he’s Altmyer’s ultimate safety valve. He leads the Fighting Illini in receptions with 32 and yards with 569, with the second-best numbers for Illinois in those categories being 18 and 311. He’s taken two of his catches for touchdowns.
Beatty’s best performance yet came alongside Altmyer’s aerial showcase vs. the Boilermakers, with Beatty needing just five receptions to rack up 186 yards and a score. He got involved in the running game in Week 1 at Duke, playing as a Wildcat quarterback and faking a reverse before housing his jaunt from 25 yards.
Another Hank Beatty play so good, I have to share it again!#Illini #Illinois #CollegeFootball
— Mike Cagley (@MikeCagley) September 7, 2025
pic.twitter.com/LtildfOLqO
Standing 5-foot-11, Beatty wasn’t receiving much NFL draft buzz entering the 2025 season, but he’s playing his way into hearing his name called in Pittsburgh this spring.
Subpar Defense
The 63 points that the Fighting Illini allowed to the Hoosiers skew some numbers, certainly, but with six games of data, Illinois has been below-average defensively from a national perspective and downright poor from a Big Ten perspective.
A key injury hasn’t helped. Defensive back Xavier Scott, the single best player in Illinois’ secondary, could be out for the rest of the season after having surgery on a lower-body injury he sustained against Western Michigan on Sep. 13. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza torched the Fighting Illini for five passing touchdowns without Scott’s services.
On the season, Illinois is No. 83 nationally in opposing passing yards per attempt at 7.3. Its run defense hasn’t been any better, also No. 83 with 4.2 yards allowed per carry. With those numbers, it’s no surprise the Illini rank 93rd nationally – third-worst in the Big Ten – in total defense, allowing 387.5 yards per game.
One bright spot has been edge-rushing linebacker Gabe Jacas, who has a team-high 4.5 sacks in 2025, with 20 total tackles and two forced fumbles.
Struggles on the Offensive Line
With Illinois’ abhorrent sacks allowed numbers noted, the Illini’s front has also done a poor job paving the way on the ground. They average just 3.7 yards per carry this season, which is 109th nationally.
Three of the Illini’s five starters on the offensive line grade out at 58 or worse for the season on Pro Football Focus. Left tackle J.C. Davis collected third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 and has a mark of 83.5 from PFF this season, but even he has allowed eight total pressures with two sacks per the website. The only other decently graded offensive lineman is left guard Josh Gesky at 71.5.
Ohio State’s defensive line, particularly defensive end Caden Curry and nose guard Kayden McDonald, has feasted all season. This could be quite the favorable matchup to sow more havoc.
The Turtle Trophy
It’s impossible to complete a list of Five Things to Know ahead of a matchup between Illinois and Ohio State and not talk about the Illibuck. There’s probably a mix of people reading this who know the lore and don’t. I’ve provided some alternative programming for the football fans who have already heard the story.
Alternative programming
Illinois is Ohio State’s lone trophied rival, though obviously its rivalry with Michigan is far more renowned, heated, iconic and well-contested. But in the 1920s, many expected the Buckeyes and Illini to be bitter foes for many years to come. Fitting that ideal, Ohio State’s junior honorary society, Bucket and Dipper, and Illinois’ junior honorary society, Atius-Sachem, decided to introduce a live turtle for the winner to take back to campus each year. Turtles live a long time, of course.
Bucket and Dipper selected the original Illibuck from a fish store in Columbus in 1924, choosing what they felt was the most “vicious” snapping turtle in the shop, for whatever reason. College kids made just as many poor decisions in the 1920s as they do in the 2020s. Seasons change, human nature doesn’t.
In any case, that aggressive and hostile nature did not make Illibuck an easy turtle to care for. Not to blame the animal for that at all. Ohio State lost the 1924 battle for Illibuck 7-0 and Atius-Sachem took possession of him. The 25-pound turtle’s quality of life declined drastically under Illinois’ care. The zoology department at the university refused to take care of it, so it moved from awful habitat to awful habitat with owners who had no clue how to take care of the creature. Atius-Sachem at one point wired Bucket and Dipper to ask, “What do you feed a turtle?”
Before the 1925 game, Atius-Sachem suggested that the loser of the Ohio State-Ilinois game be forced to take the turtle as punishment. They were disregarded and the Illini kept it as they won 14-9 in Columbus.
Illibuck then came into possession of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at Illinois, which forced its pledges to parade the turtle around and feed it bread and meat before returning it to the bathtub where it was kept.
On April 14, 1926, Illibuck passed away while under the care of the Chi Beta house at Illinois. The exact circumstances around his death have long been speculated but never confirmed. Myths have evolved surrounding it. Ohio State avenged his death with a 7-6 win in the rivalry during the 1926 season. Since then, a wooden turtle trophy has been used in place of a live turtle.
The Buckeyes hold a 68-30-4 edge all-time in the rivalry, with a six-game winning streak. The ideal Saturday will be to make it seven and avenge Illibuck one more time.
