Illinois coach Bret Bielema has been preaching to his players that the key to reaching an elite level in the Big Ten is winning on the road.
That was the theme during preseason camp, and it was reiterated this week in preparation for when the Illini (2-1) play their first road game on Saturday afternoon, against No. 7 Ohio State (2-1) in Columbus in the conference opener for both teams.
During the preseason camp, Bielema played a simulated away game for the first scrimmage, going as far as changing the hotel from where the team stays for home games and using the visitors’ locker room at Gies Memorial Stadium.
“There was a lot of things in that game that, when I talked to the leadership counsel the next day, they talked about how it was completely different,” Bielema said on Monday. “That goes into application this week on the road at Ohio State in one of the toughest environments you can find in college football.”
Fortunately for Bielema, quarterback Katin Houser knows what it’s like playing the Buckeyes in Columbus, having been the Michigan State starter in 2023 before playing the past two seasons for East Carolina.
Houser was 12 of 24 for 92 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in a 38-3 loss to host Ohio State before a crowd of 105,137.
“It’s a big deal,” Bielema said of Houser’s experience.
Houser’s go-to is Collin Dixon, whose seven touchdown catches lead the nation this season.
The Ohio State defense will be Houser’s most stern test to date. In a 59-3 victory on Saturday, the Buckeyes limited Kent State to 63 yards through the air, the 15th time since Matt Patricia became the defensive coordinator before the 2025 season that the Buckeyes held an opponent under 200 passing yards.
Offensively, Jeremiah Smith leads Ohio State. Against Kent State, the junior star receiver set the program career record for receiving yards with 2,958 (in 32 games), surpassing Michael Jenkins’ mark of 2,898 yards (38 games).
But coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes are a long way from having the type of offense needed to contend for a national title.
“We’re always looking for a balance of run and pass,” he said on Tuesday. “I think it’s been inconsistent. I think that there’s been times where it’s been very good, and then other times where it struggled.”
An area of concern is third-down conversions. The Buckeyes were 6 of 14 in a 24-23 loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Sept. 12 and 1 of 8 vs. Kent State, with the lone success coming on the final play of the game.
Ohio State is tied with three teams for 102nd of 138 FBS members with a 36.4% conversion rate, compared with finishing second last season at 53.3%, trailing only national champion Indiana (56.5%).
Day also is unhappy with scoring just 12 touchdowns plus three field goals out of 17 red-zone entries. They are ranked 68th at 88.2%.
“Those things have got to get better, and get better fast,” he said.