Illinois came into the ‘Shoe looking to push Ohio State to the limit, make the game a fourth-quarter contest, and hope to spring an upset over one of the best teams in the country. The first half was dominated by the Buckeyes, but the third quarter showed some fight from the Illini before things got away from them.
Ohio State ended up winning convincingly, 42-19, and it had a lot to do with Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema met with the media after the game to discuss what he saw from the Buckeyes and his team, and he was unusually transparent about how good Smith and Sayin are and how they compare to what he’s seen in the Big Ten and the SEC.
If you missed any of what Bielema said, we have his entire press conference thanks to the Illini Inquirer YouTube channel. Love him or hate him, the Illini head coach is usually honest and worth a few sound bites, and it was no different after this one…