Ohio State allowed a whopping 16 points at Illinois , seven more than it had in any other game this season, and the Buckeyes were ticked off about it.

"Definitely bothers me," defensive lineman Kayden McDonald said. "If we want to be the best defense in the country, we can't let people score."

As the midpoint of the 2025 season arrives, even the most dominant unit on the most dominant team is looking for areas to improve. This has largely been a season of imperfections and invalidated predictions. Don't stare directly at the preseason polls or you'll damage your eyes.

Week 7 highlighted some problems, from Oklahoma' s offense to Tennessee's third-down defense (and offense) to LSU' s general sloppiness to Ole Miss' inability to finish drives. And that's just in the SEC. Ore

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