Revitalized Illinois hosts undefeated No. 3 Ohio State

COLUMBUS » Justin Fields and Ohio State are scoring points by the truckload, as expected, but cracks in the defense have made for some unsatisfying finishes of late for the No. 3 Buckeyes.

They haven’t let one slip by yet, but Indiana got close last week. Down, 35-7, early

in the second half, the Hoosiers fought back, leaving the Buckeyes (4-0, CFP No. 4) and their exploited secondary happy to get out of nearly empty Ohio Stadium with a 42-35 win.

The previous week, the Buckeyes got a surprising late battle from Rutgers. Up, 35-3, at halftime, they let the Scarlet Knights outscore them, 24-14, in the second half. Ohio State won, 49-27, but it was an unsettling day for Coach Ryan Day and his defense.

“I don’t think there’s been anything schematically where you look at it and be like, ‘Well, that’s not good,’” Day said. “I mean, again we’re up ,35-7, (in the Indiana game) with a defense designed to avoid big plays, and we had too many big plays. So, I think schematically we’re right where we need to be. We just need to actually be better.”

Illinois (2-3) isn’t as talented as Indiana but has won two straight, and Ohio State will try not to let its guard down on the road Nov. 27.

Illinois dominated Nebraska last week in a 41-23 win, the first time the Illini won in Lincoln since 1924. Quarterback Brandon Peters threw for more than 200 yards and running backs Mike Epstein and Chase Brown each ran for more than 100 in a game in which Illinois got Peters and other key players back from bouts with COVID-19.

“The Nebraska game was the first time that we got a chance to see our entire group together, and we’re still missing a couple players,” Illinois coach Lovie Smith said.