Offense:

Quarterbacks: Freshman Juice Williams looked good in the first half of last week’s game against Indiana, throwing for 183 yards and two touchdowns. But Williams only threw for seven yards after halftime as the Hoosiers started blitzing the Illini and forcing Williams to make quicker throws to receivers that weren’t quite open. Ohio senior Austen Everson has thrown just as many interceptions as he has touchdowns this season.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Running Backs: Senior running back Pierre Thomas continues to move up Illinois’ career rushing list. After rushing for 126 yards and one touchdown last weekend, Thomas took over sole possession of seventh-place on the career rushing list. Ohio’s leading rusher, junior Kalvin Rae has totaled 362 rushing yards this season and is averaging 4.3 yards per carry this season with five touchdowns, but as a team the Bobcats are averaging under 100 yards rushing per game.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: The Illini receivers continue to show they can catch the deep ball. Sophomore Kyle Hudson had two touchdown catches of 35 yards and 53 yards last week against Indiana. Ohio’s best receiver is senior Scott Mayle, who has 158 receiving yards but no touchdown catches. Mayle however isn’t the leading receiver on the team, falling one yard short of running back Kalvin Rae.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Offensive Line: The Illini offensive line has played well in back-to-back games. Last weekend the Illini offensive front helped Illinois total its second 200-plus yard rushing performance and allowed just one sack last weekend. Ohio on the other hand has allowed seven sacks on the year and the Bobcats have struggled to run the football, averaging 97.8 rushing yards per game.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Defense:

Defensive Line: Illinois defensive line failed to put the same kind of pressure on Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis as it did against Michigan State’s Drew Stanton, allowing the Hoosiers quarterback to pick apart the Illini secondary, especially late in the game on Indiana’s final drive. This season Ohio has only recorded five sacks and is allowing opponents to rush for 148 yards per game.

Advantage: PUSH

Linebackers: Junior linebacker J Leman has remained the nucleolus of the Illini defense. Last weekend against Indiana he led the team in tackles with 10, making it five straight games with 10-plus tackles. His 10.8 tackles per game is second best in the Big Ten. Senior linebacker Russ Tyler leads the Bobcats in tackles with 51, which is 11 more than any other Bobcat player.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Secondary: After holding two of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten to sub-par performances the Illini secondary allowed Indiana redshirt freshman Kellen Lewis to throw for 240 yards and were unable to stop Hoosiers’ receiver James Hardy. However, Freshman Vonte Davis did have one of his best games of the season, finishing with nine tackles. On the season Ohio has six interceptions, but only two of them are courtesy of its secondary.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Specialist(Kickers/Punters): Junior kicker Jason Reda has made five consecutive field goals the last two games, including field goals of 41 and 28 yards last weekend. Bobcats’ senior place kicker Matt Lasher has made just 5-of-10 field goal attempts this season and has missed three field goals of less than 40-yards, including a 19-yard field goal attempt against Western Michigan last week.

Advantage: ILLINOIS

Coaching: Coming off of his first career win in the Big Ten, Ron Zook was unable to put together back-to-back wins for the Illini. While the decision to go for two two-point conversions in the first half didn’t cost the Illini the game, it did play a factor. So did the decision to continuously kick the ball to Indiana’s Marcus Thigpen and his decision to go away from the passing game in the second half. Ohio head coach Frank Solich is in his second year as coach of the Bobcats, and while he failed to led the Bobcats to a bowl game last year he did score a big upset over Pittsburgh last season.

Advantage: OHIO