COLUMBUS, Ohio – Carlos Hyde rushed for 246 yards and scored five touchdowns as the No. 3 Buckeyes won their 22nd straight football game, matching the longest winning streak in school history, by beating Illinois 60-35 in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday.
Hyde scored four rushing touchdowns and caught one of Braxton Miller’s two scoring passes as Ohio State pulled away from a stubborn Illini team that challenged them more than many observers expected from a team that had not beaten a Big Ten opponent in two years.
Miller ran for 184 yards and a touchdown and threw for 150, including another scoring strike, to Philly Brown, and Bradley Roby returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown as Ohio State (10-0, 6-0) took a 35-7 lead in the second quarter.
But Illinois (3-7, 0-6) proved to be no pushover as they cut the lead to 35-21 in the third quarter on two Nathan Scheelhaase touchdown passes. Ryan Shazier sacked backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole in the end zone for a safety, Hyde scored on a one-yard run and Drew Basil hit a 30-yard field goal to widen the Buckeyes’ lead to 47-29 with 10:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Illini scored again to trim the lead to 47-35 before Hyde broke free on scoring runs of 51 and 55 yards less than two minutes apart to seal the win.
Hyde’s 246 yards matched Archie Griffin’s third-best single-game performance in school history.
The 22-game winning streak matches the longest in OSU history, put together in 1967-69.
Ohio State returns home to face Indiana next Saturday (3:30 p.m./ABC6) before concluding the regular season at Michigan Nov. 30.