Football
Buckeyes Hope to put the Squeeze on Juice This Time Around in Columbus
By Brandon CastelCan Juice Williams do it again?
That’s what Ohio State (2-1) will look to find out when they host long-time rival Illinois (1-1) in their Big Ten-opener this Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC).
It marks the first return trip to Ohio Stadium for Juice and the Fighting Illini since they pulled the 28-21 upset of then-No. 1 OSU back in 2007, putting an end to the Buckeyes otherwise undefeated season.
With a sophomore quarterback under center and the conference’s leading rusher in the backfield, the Ohio State gameplan was simple defensively: stop tailback Rashard Mendenhall, thus forcing Juice Williams to beat them with his arm.
Until that game, Williams had not proven to be much of a passer. In fact, he finished the year with just 13 touchdown passes against 12 interceptions, but those numbers would have looked far worse if not for the career passing effort he had that night against the Buckeyes. With the defense focused on stopping Mendenhall, Williams threw a career-high four touchdown passes – each to a different receiver – without throwing a pick as the Illini amassed 400 yards of total offense in the upset.
Two years later, and it appears the Buckeyes will test Juice’s passing abilities once again.
“First and foremost we have to stop the run. Stop Juice from running the ball and hopefully make them one-dimensional,” said linebacker Ross Homan, who is tied for second on the team with 20 tackles this season.
Ohio State contained Mendenhall to just 88 yards on 26 carries (25 of which came on one run) in that game, but Juice Williams added 70 yards of his own on the ground using the zone-read play that seemed to baffle the Buckeyes defensively.
“He did a good job of reading the defense with the zone-read and the option,” OSU cornerback Chimdi Chekwa said.
“He did a good job of keeping it when he needed to keep and taking it up for 10 yards so we have to make sure we contain Juice and not let him run up the middle.”
The notion of making an opposing offense one-dimensional is nothing new for Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock. In fact, the Buckeyes employed a similar gameplan against USC in week two of this season when they focused on stopping Joe McKnight and the Trojans’ rushing attack to put the pressure on freshman quarterback Matt Barkley.
“We talk about that week in and week out. We talked about it SC week. If we can dominate the edge we should be able to stop the run. We have to put guys on the edge that can force the line of scrimmage and hold it there for the guys behind them to make plays,” said Austin Spitler, who has nine tackles in three games this season.
The gameplan worked – at least for three-and-a-half quarters – as Ohio State held USC to just 118 yards on 40 carries (an average of 3.0 yards per carry). The Buckeyes realize, however, that Juice Williams is not Matt Barkley, and the problems he can present as a dual-threat quarterback are very real.
“The thing about Juice Williams is that he’s a double threat. He’s an unbelievable passer but when he gets outside the pocket he’s a great runner,” Homan said.
So far this season, the Juice has not been able to get loose while hampered by an injury. He was sacked three times in the Illini’s season-opener, while totaling 27 yards on the ground and 179 through the air in a 37-9 loss to Missouri. He did carry the ball one time for 49 yards again Illinois State in week two before an injury knocked him out for the rest of the game.
With two weeks of rest to prepare for Ohio State, the Buckeyes are expecting a healthy, and dangerous, Juice Williams to take the field Saturday in the Horseshoe.
“It's always difficult when you're playing against a guy who's got more than one dimension,” Spitler said.
“He's a great passer and great runner. We look at it as we have to make him on dimensional, we have to stop the run first and make him throw the ball. Obviously he's a great threat back there and a big focus on him this week.”
The Buckeyes did a good job of bottling up Juice in last season’s 30-20 win in Champaign, Ill. thanks in big part to the play of linebacker Tyler Moeller, who was filling in for an injured Jermale Hines. Behind Moeller’s two sacks, the Buckeyes held Juice to just 48 yards on the ground, but he did manage to pass for nearly 200 yards.
The Ohio State players believe they have seen a progression in the Illini quarterback from the player who threw 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions (9 and 12 without the OSU game) two years ago to the one who led the Big Ten in passing yards and passing touchdowns a year ago.
“He just makes better decisions,” Spitler said.
“He's got the same athletic skills and he flies around out there. He can hurt you with his feet, his arm has come along I guess you could say, he's come along as a passing threat.”
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