Why Saturday's Loss to Ohio State Isn't a Step Back for Illinois Football

There's no such thing as a good loss in sports, but make no mistake about it: Illinois played Ohio State tough despite losing 34-16 on Saturday. Were the Illini ever in a position to win? Absolutely not. Was Ohio State the better team? Yes. But that doesn't mean defeat in this case was necessarily more than a minor setback.

All of us at Illinois on SI picked Ohio State to win, and the majority of us took the Buckeyes by two scores as well. Why? Because OSU has more talent – lots more. And that's exactly what we saw on Saturday.

But Illinois' season is far from over, and the Illini can still accomplish a lot this year.

What we learned from Illinois' defeat

The most obvious takeaway from Saturday in Champaign is that Illinois' talent simply doesn't match up with that of Ohio State. Size, speed, agility. You name it, Ohio State has more of it than the Illini. Doesn't matter what phase of the game we're talking. Offense, defense, special teams. The Buckeyes had more athleticism and physical gifts across the board, and they outplayed the Illini in each phase.

So why isn't a loss to Ohio State a setback?

Because nothing unexpected happened. Illinois lost to a much better team. Nothing more, nothing less. Does it suck that it was in front of a sold-out crowd in a hugely anticipated matchup? Yeah, maybe a little. But it is what is it. The better team won.

Will Illinois plummet from the polls?

No, not necessarily. Indiana's road upset over Oregon helps Illinois a lot, so there's a chance the Hoosiers move up from No. 7 to No. 2 in the polls. My best guess is Indiana gets to No. 3, which means the Illini's only two losses this season are to the No. 1 team and the No. 3 team in the country.

And considering Saturday's loss to the defending champs wasn't quite a blowout, it wouldn't surprise me if Illinois stays ranked at No. 17.

What to expect from the Illini moving forward?

The Illini are idle next week, and head coach Bret Bielema has a strong track record of performing well when given extra rest and time to prepare. But Illinois' next game is at Washington, and that's not going to be an easy one. The Huskies are very tough to beat at home – 24-1 in their past 25 games at Husky Stadium, in fact – and the lllini will have to play their best game of the year to avoid a second straight loss.

After that, the schedule gets easier (vs. Rutgers, vs. Maryland, at Wisconsin, vs. Northwestern). So, Illinois should realistically end its regular season no worse than 9-3. And if the Illini can win their bowl game, they will have baclk-to-back 10-win seasons – something that has never been done before in program history.