Yes, they can.

There is little doubt in my mind that this Illinois team can beat the Ohio State Buckeyes.

That being said, it won’t be easy – at all.

But there are some Buckeye weaknesses, more so than Illinois strengths, that the Illini can exploit.

The first – which I’m sure Jim Tressel and the sweater vest have been playing for all week – is running back Rashard Mendenhall. Ohio State’s run defense has been great on the year, but it has yet to face a back that has Mendenhall’s combination of speed, agility and power.

The best back that OSU has faced so far this season is arguably Javon Ringer of Michigan State. While Ringer has track speed, his lack of size makes him less a threat in between the tackles, which may have led to him not having his best game against the Buckeyes.

Even so, it was Ringer and Michigan State that gave Ohio State its closest game, scoring-wise, this year. At Ohio Stadium, the Spartans only lost by seven points.

Ohio State’s defensive line lacks penetration and that will help Illinois’ running game. The defensive front features three first-year starters in end Rob Rose and tackles Doug Worthington and Todd Denlinger. The trio of defensive players only has a combined 4.5 tackles for loss on the year, three of which were sacks. This might point to the fact that the defensive line has trouble breaking up the run in the backfield, leaning on the linebacking corps for help.

As well as the Ohio State linebackers play, specifically James Laurinaitis, the group will be hard pressed to be able to come up to help the defensive with the run and be ready to pick up receivers at the same time.

I don’t care that Laurinaitis was a legitimate NHL prospect or that his father was The Animal; Mendenhall’s overall ability, coupled with the NFL-caliber blocking of Russ Weil, is going to give the Nagurski Trophy winner trouble.

Another player that will cause the Ohio State defense problems is recently converted wide receiver Jeff Cumberland.

Last week against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes had their fair share of matchup problems with Badger tight end Travis Beckum – a more experienced version of Jeff Cumberland. The junior had nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown leading the way for the Badgers in their defeat.

Granted, Beckum has hands that might make Tony Gonzalez a little weak in the knees, but he and Cumberland are in the same mold of supremely athletic tight ends. Cumberland does have one inch and about 20 pounds on Beckum, and given some more time to develop, he could become a player similar to Beckum with more speed.

After Jeff’s big game last week against Minnesota, I think that the Ohio native is poised to show Tressel what he is missing out on.

I know that I have greatly neglected the Ohio State offense against the Illini defense, but that is for a reason. Even though this might be the best offense that the Buckeyes will face, it is definitely the best defense that they have played so far. Between the run stopping that the team has featured all year, to the play of Vontae Davis, a self-proclaimed top Big Ten cornerback, the defense has played great all year.

The biggest question for me on the defensive side of the ball for the Illini is whether or not the rest of the secondary can help Davis shut down Todd Boeckman. Boeckman might not be the flashiest of quarterbacks, but his 23 touchdowns on the year more than speak to his ability.

Maybe I’m too invested in the Illini bandwagon. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic. But I don’t see why the Illini don’t have a great opportunity in front of themselves to upset the Buckeyes.

Don’t be surprised if this already jumbled National Championship picture gets a little more muddled up after Saturday.

Daniel Johnson is a junior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].