Buckeye Rosters

Recap

Champaign, IL — Dan Stultz’ 24-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Buckeyes to a thrilling 24-21 come-from-behind triumph over Illinois. Stultz booted a career-best four field goals on the day, including a 17-yarder with 6:05 to play that tied the score at 21. His earlier kicks were from 19 and 41 yards out.

The Buckeyes also received outstanding performances from quarterback Steve Bellisari, tight end Darnell Sanders and running back Jonathan Wells.

Bellisari completed 23-of-38 passes (both personal highs) for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of his TD passes were to Sanders who enjoyed his first multiple-touchdown day as a Buckeye. Wells, meanwhile, came off the bench to pound the Illini defense for 131 yards on 27 carries, both career highs. Wells, spelling Derek Combs who went to the sidelines after re-aggravating an ankle sprain, also caught five passes for 50 yards.

On their last two drives, the Buckeyes marched 75 and 72 yards, respectively, with Wells getting the call on 16 of 32 plays. OSU finished the day with a season-high 474 yards in total offense and ran 95 offensive plays. The Buckeyes also converted nine of their 18 third-down opportunities.

Sophomore linebacker Matt Wilhelm led the OSU defense with 12 tackles and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

The win improved the Buckeyes overall record to 8-2 and upped their conference mark to 5-2, giving OSU a share of the conference lead heading into the last week of the regular season.