Ohio St. tries to get back on track at Illinois

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

Nathan Scheelhaase thought a little bit about what might have been had Terrelle Pryor stayed at Ohio State and been under center for today’s matchup with No. 16 Illinois.

“In retrospect, that would have been cool,” said Scheelhaase, the sophomore quarterback who has led the Illini to a perfect 6-0 start (2-0 Big Ten). Then he came back to reality.

“We’re just focusing on who they’ve got,” he said.

While Illinois is hoping to stay on top of the Big Ten Leaders Division, the Buckeyes (3-3, 0-2) are trying to save their season.

“It’s a tough spot to be in,” tight end Jake Stoneburner said. “We can’t be thinking, ‘Oh, we’re three and three right now. The season’s over.’ We’ve still got six games left. We have a lot to play for.”

Instead of Pryor, now in the NFL, Scheelhaase’s counterpart will be Braxton Miller, a true freshman who looked a lot like the real thing last week at Nebraska before his fumble gave the struggling Cornhuskers life they turned into a win.

Miller left that game with a sprained ankle but he’s expected to be fine by Saturday’s kickoff.

Where Miller now stands — a freshman finding his way — Scheelhaase was a year ago.

Unlike Miller, Scheelhaase had a redshirt year before he took over as a starter last season, but in any given week he was anything from amazing to awful. At Ohio State last October, he ran for 12 yards and threw for 109 in a 24-13 loss. A week later, he led the Illini to a 33-13 shocker at Penn State.

PENN STATE-PURDUE

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

Another impressive showing by the Penn State defense left tackle Jordan Hill craving more contact.

More run-stuffing hits. More block-shedding moves. More shots at the quarterback.

This is not good news for Purdue and its visit to Happy Valley.

“You’ve got to get past the line of scrimmage first. That’s been people’s problems,” Boilermakers coach Danny Hope said. “They can’t get through the line of scrimmage.”

Or into the end zone, for that matter.

Penn State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) has amassed some gaudy statistics through the season’s first half, including being ranked fourth in the FBS in total defense (250.8 yards) and fifth in scoring (10.5 points). Penn State has allowed just six touchdowns and forced 14 turnovers this season — including a forced fumble and two interceptions in the fourth quarter of a 13-3 win last week over Iowa.

As if the going won’t be tough enough this weekend for Purdue (3-2, 1-0), the Nittany Lions defense should be replenished with the expected returns of cornerbacks D’Anton Lynn (concussion) and Stephon Morris (left ankle). And linebacker play has been solid, even with Michael Mauti out for the year with a knee injury.