SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 15, 2011

Dan Herron made a huge splash in his return to the Buckeyes, rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown as visiting Ohio State handed No. 15 Illinois its first loss of the season, 17-7 on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) snapped a two-game skid and won their ninth straight in Champaign. Illinois (6-1, 2-1) committed three turnovers.

Herron, who sat out the first six games because of suspension, didn’t take long to work off the rust. He carried 12 times for 70 yards in the first half, leading an Ohio State rushing attack that totaled 208 yards.

A 36-yard interception return from Bradley Roby set up a 12-yard touchdown run from Herron, who bounced outside to the left and went untouched into the end zone to open the third quarter and put Ohio State up 10-0.

Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase was contained most of the game by a mix of zone and man coverage from the Buckeyes secondary. He got the Fighting Illini on the board in the fourth quarter, finding tight end Evan Wilson on a bootleg for a 3-yard touchdown pass. He finished with 158 yards passing and two interceptions.

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller played on an injured ankle. The freshman didn’t complete a pass until there was 13:06 left in the fourth quarter, connecting with Jake Stoneburner on a 17-yard touchdown for his only completion of the game. Miller added 34 yards on the ground.

Illinois running back Jason Ford injured his shoulder diving for a first down in the third quarter and did not return.

The Illini’s streak of 21 games with a forced turnover was snapped. They forced a fumble, but were unable to recover.