|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Ohio State made too many costly mistakes, and Illinois remains in contention for the Big Ten Conference title. Linebacker Ty Myers returned a bad pass by Craig Krenzel for a touchown and Kurt Kittner threw a pair of touchdown passes as 12th-ranked Illinois rolled to its sixth straight win with a 34-22 victory over the Buckeyes. Ohio State played without quarterback Steve Bellisari, who allegedly made a serious lapse in judgment on early Friday, when he was charged with drunken driving and was suspended indefinitely by the team. Bellisari's troubles could not come at a worse time for the Buckeyes, who were forced to turn to a pair of backup quarterbacks in Scott McMullen and Krenzel. "Going into the game we knew we were going to play both. When Craig did get an opportunity he came in and did some things," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "We got a little bit of rhythm going. We started to mount a little bit of a comeback there in the third quarter especially. I thought that was the way we should go." Tressel stressed that his team would rise to the occasion in Bellisari's absence, and the Buckeyes did that for three quarters, taking a 22-21 lead into the final period. But Illinois (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) eventually wore down the Buckeyes and took the lead for good on a one-yard TD run by Carey Davis early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State had an opportunity to drive for the potential go-ahead score late in the final quarter. But Krenzel apparently did not see Myers, who recorded one of his two interceptions when he picked off a pass and leaped two yards into the end zone to ice the game for Illinois. Illinois coach Ron Turner refused to make the uncertainty at quarterback an issue. "We focused on Illinois first and Ohio State second," Turner said. "It was about Illinois, not them, their quarterback or anything else." Krenzel, a roommate of Bellisari who had not thrown a pass all season, completed 11-of-23 passes for 164 yards and was picked off twice. McMullen was 3-of-14 for 42 yards. Illinois can clinch the Big Ten title and secure a berth in a BCS bowl if it defeats Northwestern on Thursday and Michigan loses next week to Ohio State. The Wolverines defeated Wisconsin on Saturday. The Illini are enjoying their longest winning streak since capturing 12 in a row from 1982 through 1984. Kittner completed 18-of-28 passes for 274 yards with an interception and was sacked three times. Jonathan Wells carried 23 times for 192 yards and a score for Ohio State (6-4, 4-3), which controlled its own destiny in the Big Ten race before Saturday's loss. Wells went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. "He's a pretty darn good year," Tressel said. "We asked our seniors to have a career-best year and I think most of them have done a darn good job." Illinois broke in front quickly when Jamaal Clark returned a blocked punt two yards for a score just 60 seconds into the contest. Wells responded quickly with a 59-yard run that set up a 10-yard TD pass from McMullen to Chris Vance, his third TD in as many games. A 23-yard field goal by Mike Nugent gave the Buckeyes a 10-7 lead after one quarter. Kittner threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 97-second span of the second quarter to give the Illini a 21-10 halftime lead. He connected on a 37-yard strike with Walter Young with 2:35 left and from 36 yards with Aaron Morehead with 58 seconds left in the period. Young caught seven passes for 133 yards. Midway through the the second quarter, Tressel turned to Krenzel, Belissari's roommate who had yet to throw a pass this season. Krenzel seemed to have the Illini confused in the third quarter, throwing a 17-yard TD pass to Michael Jenkins an engineered a 71-yard TD drive that ended in a one-yard TD run by Wells that gave the Buckeyes a 22-21 lead after three quarters. Illinois played without leading runner Antoineo Harris, who has a broken wrist. Rocky Harvey filled the void with 19 carries for 89 yards, including a 21-yard jaunt to the Illinois 1 that led to the TD by Davis.
|
