With the season on hold, we can only guess how Ohio State would have done this past weekend if things would have gone on as expected with the conference-only schedule. It would have played a tough, but far from perfect Illinois team that gave Wisconsin fits last season. I think this would have been a Buckeyes win, but it would have started slow for them.
With the Illini bringing back their starting quarterback and top receiver I think they would have started the game strong as Brandon Peters would have found Donny Navarro for an early TD as they ground the clock on their first drive. The question about Illinois is on defense and this is where the Buckeyes would have blown past them.
On defense, I think that this would have been a coming-out party for Jonathon Cooper as he would have racked up two sacks and been disruptive as the game wore on. Baron Browning would probably have made some plays against the run and forced Illinois to go pass in the second half where there would have been a pick to seal the game for a Buckeyes score on a short field.
On offense, Justin Fields would have had about 290 yards and three TDs, one of them being on the ground. Chris Olave would have broken 120 yards and two TDs himself. The real surprise would have been Demario McCall rushing for 130 yards and two TDs himself.
We have no idea what the Buckeyes would have done, however, basing it off what they did last season, the turnover on both sides of the ball, and the lack of real training I think would have had them start a little slow and pick up speed as they forced Illinois to become one dimensional.
Final score Buckeyes 41 – Illinois 20.
