By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Columbus, OH

Carlos Hyde ran for three touchdowns and quarterback Braxton Miller threw for two more as Ohio State cruised to its 10th straight win with an easy 52-22 victory over Illinois Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Hyde tallied 137 yards on 18 carries and his three rushing scores raised his total to 13, tied with Miller and Wisconsin's Montee Ball. He leads the league in total scores with 14 and scoring with an average of 10.5 points per outing.

Miller completed 12 of 20 passes for 226 yards and rushed for 73 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown to help the Buckeyes stay unbeaten going into the bye week.

With his rushing touchdown in the third quarter, Miller passed former Buckeye Cornelius Greene for sole possession of second place on Ohio State single-season rushing touchdown list by a quarterback with 13.

At 10-0, Ohio State has matched its longest win streak since 2007. The Buckeyes were among six unbeaten teams left in Football Bowl Subdivision entering week 10 of the season.

With the win over Illinois, head coach Urban Meyer has now guided six different teams to at least one 10-win season in his coaching career.

Meyer also became the second first-year coach in school history to open 10-0, since Earl Bruce led the Buckeyes to an 11-0 record in 1979. Meyer is perfect in 27 games when his team score 50 points or more.

Nathan Scheelhaase completed 19 of 34 heaves for 93 yards with no touchdown for the Illini (2-7, 0-5 Big Ten), who suffered their sixth consecutive loss and 11th straight Big Ten defeat.

Despite a perfect record, Meyer was far from satisfied with his team's performance, especially in the passing game.

"We worked so hard at trying to develop a passing game, and I can't say that we did it successfully, however," Meyer said during the postgame press conference. "Still a work in progress."

The Illini fired the opening salvo, with Nick Immekus burying a 43-yard field goal but Hyde answered with a three-yard run to give the Buckeyes the lead. Immekus then ended the first quarter with a 28-yard kick to put the Illini within 7-6.

Then the Buckeyes scored 31 unanswered points in the second and third periods for a commanding 38-6 advantage before Jon Davis scored the Illini's first touchdown with a one-yard burst.

In the fourth, Miller connected with Philly Brown for a 37-yard touchdown pass before he was pulled out of the game for backup Kenny Guiton, whose fumble led to a 77-yard touchdown return by Ashante Williams.

Then, Bri'onte Dunn put the finishing touches in Ohio State's victory with a three-yard touchdown run.

 

 

Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller Help Ohio State Crush Illinois