Illinois Hammers Ohio State

Kurt Kittner passed for four touchdowns and Illinois qualified for its first bowl game in five years by bowling over No. 25 Ohio State, 46-20, in a Big Ten game Saturday.

It was the most points surrendered by Ohio State in Ohio Stadium since Michigan hung a 58-6 loss on the Buckeyes in 1946. In 87 previous meetings, the only time Illinois had scored more points against Ohio State was in 1904, when it won, 46-0.

“We wanted to bury them,” Illinois defensive tackle Mike McGee said. “Not bury them in a bad way, but like a wounded animal we didn’t want them having any last gasp.”

Illinois, 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, has won three of its last four and defeated Ohio State and Michigan on the road this season for the first time.

Ohio State (6-5, 3-4) must win at Michigan on Saturday for a winning season to meet the minimum requirement to play in a bowl game.

So lopsided was the game that one of the biggest cheers of the game came when a middle-aged man ran onto the field midway through the fourth quarter with Illinois ahead, 43-20. He was handcuffed and led away while the crowd--most of the 93,429 had left by then--applauded and screamed.

It was a meltdown of epic proportions for an Ohio State team that hadn’t fallen out of the top 25 since the middle of the 1994 season.

Kittner completed 17 of 31 passes for 221 yards, most on short flips that the Illini turned into big gains. His four touchdown passes give him 22 this season, and he has only two interceptions. Illinois’ Jameel Cook had seven receptions for 100 yards and one touchdown.