By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland.com) —
Columbus - Just 371 days ago, Illinois devastated Ohio State on Senior Day, ruining an undefeated OSU season with a 28-21 upset.

“This was our season,” OSU captain Kirk Barton said after that loss.

Except it wasn’t.

The crushing defeated turned out to be a minor inconvenience. The Buckeyes still won an outright Big Ten title and still made it to the national championship game. They got everything they wanted, and there turned out to be no difference between zero losses in the regular season and one loss.

Until today.

“It’ll be on our minds for next year,” Ohio State’s Anderson Russell said moments after that loss on Nov. 10, 2007, “but it’s a long time till then.”

Not that long. So does last year’s game have any effect on today, when Ohio State plays at Memorial Stadium?

Yes and no, though the Buckeyes, last year’s losers, seemed to hang on to the past this week more than last year’s victors did.

Why it matters

1. It ended kind of nasty: Illinois’ midfield celebration in Ohio Stadium led to a postgame scuffle in which punches were thrown. Coaches would show tape from a 100-year-old loss in the name of motivation, but this one is fresh.

“Obviously there’s some animosity between us and Illinois,” OSU senior tight end Rory Nicol said.

Senior cornerback Malcolm Jenkins swatted down the suggestion of bad blood, but this is the most natural rivalry to sprout for the Buckeyes in recent years. Michigan is Michigan and Penn State has been good, but there’s something to the Illini.

“It just means a little bit more,” Jenkins said. “It definitely sticks in our minds. When we play Illinois it’s a different type of game.”

2. Illinois showed its talent level: In straight-up talent, the Illini match up with the Buckeyes as well as anyone in the conference, much more than you’d expect from a 5-5 team.

“They have talented players all over the field,” Jenkins said. “Their record really isn’t a testament to what they have as far as weapons.”

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said the Illini “look every bit as good or better today than they did a year ago,” and he’s right. What the Illini don’t know how to do is stay up every week for lesser-talented teams and maintain an intensity level when something is actually expected of them.

They are exactly the kind of team that can lose to Western Michigan one week and beat Ohio State the next.

“We think we are a good team,” Illinois linebacker Brit Miller said, “and we think we can play with these guys.”

3. It continued a trend: Last year wasn’t a one-time thing. Last time the Buckeyes went to Illinois, the undefeated 2006 team was pushed for 60 minutes in a 17-10 win.

“We were 2 and whatever and we still played them like we were a Rose Bowl team,” Illini defensive end Will Davis said.

Illinois coach Ron Zook said, “I’m 1-2 against them, so I haven’t been real successful.”

But while Ohio State has run through the Big Ten the last three years, the Illini have tested them as much as any team.

Why it doesn’t matter 1. Rashard Mendenhall is gone: Last season the Illini averaged 257 rushing yards a game, best in the conference and fifth-best in the country, as Mendenhall rushed for 1,681 yards. The Buckeyes held him to 88 yards, but his presence changed the offense and helped set up play-action passes as Juice Williams surprisingly threw for four touchdowns.

This season, the Illini are averaging 170 yards per game, 42nd in the country, and while Williams has thrown for 1,000 more yards, it’s no longer a surprise. Several tailbacks have played, and Williams is the Illini’s leading rusher.

“It’s not just who it is, it’s how well they are running it,” OSU linebackers coach Luke Fickell said. “It can be any tailback if they’re running well.”

And they’re not running it that well.

2. Last week actually means more to Illinois: The Illini can’t worry about last year when they’re still nursing a seven-day-old loss to a MAC team.

Linebacker Brit Miller said the players were exchanging text messages about wanting to get back on the field as soon as they got back home a week ago.

“We get questions a lot about do you want to win. And this shows that what people may think is false,” Miller said. “Because guys care.”

No matter what happened a year ago, the Illini would have something to prove this week.

3. Terrelle Pryor is here: The unraveling of Todd Boeckman began in this game last season, when he threw three interceptions. Now the Illini are in line for the unfurling of Pryor, with the freshman quarterback coming off his most complete game.

“He’s amazing,” Miller said. “But the one thing I really like about facing zone-read quarterbacks is I think we have one of the best in Juice and we see it a lot and I think it can shed some light on what they’ll try to do to us.”

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