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Ohio State's defense flexes against Illinois: Why Buckeyes are on historic pace through six games

Well, someone finally scored in the red zone on No. 1 Ohio State.

It took a trick play – a jet sweep to Illinois' Hank Beatty, who pitched that to Aidan Laughery for a one-yard TD run – to score on the Buckeyes' defense. The Illini became the first team to score double digits on Ohio State, which won 34-16 on the road to improve to 6-0 through the first half of the 2025 college football season.

The word "historic" has been ejected into the discussion about the Buckeyes' under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia – and with good reason. This Ohio State team is trending in the direction of some of the best defenses since the Bowl Championship Series era began in 199

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