Illinois came to Columbus on a bad night.

The Ohio State Buckeyes were coming off their fifth loss of the season, a 56-51 defeat to arch-rival Michigan on Saturday night. After being buried under 48 hours of relentless doubt and negativity, the Buckeyes took out all their frustrations in an 83-67 beat down of the Fighting Illini.

Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points, William Buford scored 17 and Aaron Craft added 11 as Ohio State bucked their recent shooting slump to shoot 65% against Illinois. The Buckeyes also made seven of their 13 3-pointers, and that efficiency on the perimeter allowed Ohio State to lead the game for all 40 minutes.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta talked about the Buckeyes’ hot shooting, “It was obviously good to see the ball go in early. I thought we got out and got some good shots and got the ball moving,” Matta said. “We were able to get some good shots off of our defense. It was delightful to see, trust me... We didn’t do anything magical; they just went down for us tonight.”

After struggling on offense in losses to Michigan and Michigan State, Matta wanted the Buckeyes to push the ball and look for easier buckets. In practices leading up to the Illinois game, Matta had his Buckeyes work on getting out in transition and it showed against the Illini. The Buckeyes tried out a new rotation that put speedy point guard Shannon Scott on the court with Aaron Craft at the same time. Although Scott turned the ball over a few times, his presence on the court seemed to give Ohio State a sense of urgency.

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After scoring a season-low 48 points in an embarrassing and rare home loss to Michigan State three days ago, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes wanted to refocus and right the ship as they close in on the end of the regular season. The opportunity to do so came in the form of the Minnesota Golden Gophers Tuesday night and the Buckeyes were very ungracious guests. Powered by William Buford and Jared Sullinger, Ohio State bullied their way to a 78-68 road victory and a much-needed palate cleansing.

Buford led all scorers with 24 points (shooting 10-17 from the field) while adding eight rebounds and five assists. Sullinger connected on six of 11 shots on his way to 23 points while snagging eight rebounds. This -- just days after combining to shoot 7-27 against Michigan State -- was exactly what Ohio State needed to put the loss behind them.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta talked about Buford and Sullinger after the game, “I thought Jared played a very heady game. They tried to mix it up on him and to his credit he showed great patience and strength and made some big plays down there.” He later added, “It was good to see Will get back on track.”

Although Buford and Sullinger carried the load, the entire team played “within the system” and avoided the one-on-one situations that doomed them against the Spartans. Ohio State seemed focused from the beginning and played with an efficiency that translated well on the stat sheet. The Buckeyes shot 45% from the field and assisted on 15 of their 25 made field goals. The flow of the game allowed Matta to get his bench involved as 10 players saw action against the Gophers.

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It’s a relatively quiet time for the OSU football program, if there is such a thing anymore. The players are working at winter conditioning under the demanding direction of new OSU "toughness" guru Mickey Marotti. If you can go by their plaintive tweets, they are being taxed to the max, and living for the blessed relief of the weekend. It’s no secret that Meyer was not happy with what he saw in the OSU players’ overall conditioning in 2011, and everyone is expecting a leaner, more fit group of Buckeyes in the fall....those that survive, that is.

The coaching staff has turned their recruiting focus to the class of 2013, and the program is playing host to a number of top junior recruits this weekend. The other Big Ten coaches have been spotted cowering in dark corners across the Midwest. Tickets are already on sale for the Spring Game on April 21st, and I understand they are moving briskly. Don’t underestimate the appeal of a football season that promises to be primarily about football.

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The dominoes continue to fall and now it won't be long before college football finally has a legitimate playoff to determine its national champion. The news that the Big Ten is noodling various playoff scenarios carries with it the significant implication that it not only can be swayed but that it will. To this point the Big Ten served as both the enemy of progress and the 10,000 pound elephant in the playoff advocates' ointment.

There is this overwhelming unmet need of so many to crown a national champion in Division I football on the field. Initially it stemmed from the distinct possibility that the two ranking groups, the Associated Press and the United Press International Coaches Poll, since taken over by USA Today, left open the possibility that there could be, God forbid, a difference of opinion on which team really was the theoretical best for that year. Indeed they did disagree at various times, though it should be noted that it didn't result in rain falling upward or dogs playing with cats.

Despite all the supposedly smart men in hideous blazers paid by universities to wring hands and scratch brows over all things related to college football, no one could quite figure out how to deal with an incredibly antiquated and increasingly irrelevant bowl system that seemed to be an insurmountable hurdle to a national playoff system.

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