It's Game Time!

IlliniBeat is currently at the Shoe in Columbus, Ohio to cover the 2009 installment of the Illibuck rivalry! Check back as the game draws closer to get up to the minute news on today's game.

35 Minutes before game time- OSU comes out of the locker room tunnel and after their traditional huddle in the end zone, the Buckeyes charged mid-field and met with the Illini for some heated trash talk.

The OSU band is taking the field. I love this part.

Acting as Coin Toss Captains are Juice, Garrett Edwards, Doug Pilcher, and Asamoah. For OSU; Cloemanm, Spitler, Sanzenbacher, and Worthington. OSU to receive.

Returning for OSU Laamar Thomas to the 26.

OSU opening up with the quick passing game as I expected. Looking to get Pryor some confidence. Hardeman with great pressure.

OSU punts for 22 yards.

Illinois is obviously trying to make a statement. Going on it on 4th down isn't risky here, but it sure isn't conservative.

Juice really seemed to be in sync with his hot read, but going down field is a different story. Rolle with a 39 yard pick.

Clay Nurse just saved a huge play! We are already seeing Terrelle Pryor's scrambling ability.

OSU hits a 50 yard field goal. Aaron Pettrey as a previous long of 52 yards, so this was known to be in his range.

To this point Illinois has moved the ball better than OSU, but the turnovers are going to kill us. We need to play more disciplined football to win another game in the Shoe.

That is why Benn is going to the NFL. He just took that ball out of the air. Then next play it goes right back to him for 9 more. Illinois still looks good on offense. I know they threw a pick, but they are moving the ball.

Todd Denlinger just picked up his third sack for his career.

Anthony Santella punts for 39 yards, fair caught by Ray Small. Santella is averaging 39.8 yards this year... a nice improvement.

Here comes the rain! Let's see how that affects OSU's run heavy offense.

Russel Ellington made a nice tackle there, he was taking on a lineman and still got a strong arm out.

As I predicted, Brandon Saine is looking great today. 11+ yards per carry so far.

OSU is benefiting from some great down field blocking. On almost every one of these big runs, there is a lineman down field hitting someone.

Clay Nurse is having a good game! Two tackles for loss, both on Pryor, for a total of -10 yards. This one also happened to stop the Bucks on 3rd down.

Aaron Pettrey does it again... 46 yard field goal.

And for all of you who hate the guy who runs on the field and holds up the game for TV timeouts... He just blew his role and caused a re-kick, because he allowed the kick to happen while TV was still at break.

#24 Marcus Williams is down for OSU.

I feel like the read option is working well. Illinois is hitting the holes and making decisions quickly.

Pollard fumbles and if Anderson Russel has two more yards till the side line, it's OSU ball. Buckeye fans are booing, but it was the right call.

Clay Nurse does it again with a tackle for loss on Pryor, but this time it's nullified by a face mask penalty.

Shotgun... Meet foot. Illinois is killing themselves with two, 15-yard personal fouls this drive.

Terrelle Pryor is 0-2 passing, and we still can't stop their offense. Illinois needs to stop making mistakes with penalties and shore up the outside run defense.

Dan "Boom" Herron with his 10th career rushing touchdown.

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Anthony Santella just hit his season high for a punt on that kick. 43 yards.

Ellington is having a good game for Illinois.

Fayson returning the punt make a mental mistake... Instead of fair catching the ball at about the 30, he lets is bounce to inside the 10. Illini ball.

Ray Small fumbles the punt, and Illinois takes over in OSU territory. We need to score here.

Rejus Benn almost hooked up with a deep Juice pass for a TD. Instead the Buckeyes commit pass interference.

5 men in the backfield? Illinois shoots themselves again with a dumb penalty.

Now Fayson drops a wide open pass... The last 5 minutes have been very sloppy for the Illini.

And now holding. Two years ago the Illini didn't commit a single penelty in the first half to beat OSU. This year has been the exact opposite.

Santella punts for 46 yards, inside the Illini 5... Pryor takes a knee to end the half.

OSU 13- Ill 0 in what could be a very different game if Illinois could play more disciplined.

My hopes that Illinois would cut out the penalties were quickly wiped out... Holding on the kickoff return.

First play after the kickoff, Juice is sacked by Thadeus Gibson. That was Gibson's 15th career sack.

Thad again. Gibson hits Juice Williams and causes a fumble. Illinois recovers and will have to punt.

Santella had looked good until that punt... 27 yards.

So far Terrelle just looks plain bad at throwing the ball. Sanzenbacher was wide open, and Pryor couldn't hit him for the first down.

And there it is. Two quarters and 3 minutes into the game, Pryor completes his first pass. The former number one High School player in the nation is now 1-4, 7 yards.

Dan "Boom" Herron scores his second touchdown of the day. 5 for the season, 11 for the career.

20-0 OSU.

Benn fumbles the kickoff. This has just been a sloppy, sloppy game.

Well, the Ohio State defense has really stepped it up a notch. Coming out, OSU was allowing Illinois to develop plays. The defense has really put the pressure on, and now the Illini offense looks like it is rushing things and trying to force a play.

Once again, the OSU defense put pressure on Illinois, and we didn't respond. The outside blitz has been stopped so far, but it's allowing for the interior defensive lineman to get a free shot up the middle. Lawrence Wilson bats the pass and intercepts Williams for the second INT. of his career.

Today's attendance broke the 105,000 mark, good for the 17th all time mark in the Shoe.

Sanzenbacher just caught the second pass of the day and followed it up with the third on the next play.

There have been some really disheartening stats this season... How about Rejus Benn with only 4 catches and 35 yards after 8 quarters of football.

Illinois is behind OSU in penalties this game 8-1.

Don't turn the game off. Juice Williams is less than 80 yards away from breaking the all-time school total offense record.