Illini's O-line up to the challenge?

CHAMPAIGN -- Working overtime on the artificial turf of Illinois' indoor practice facility, Xavier Fulton straps a weight belt around his waist.

The Illini left tackle then assumes his stance on the line. After a pretend snap, Fulton rises into his proper pass-blocking technique.

Then the overtraining magic begins.

Assistant offensive line coach Mike Degory, a former all-SEC center at Florida, starts running and tugging with all of his considerable might on the bungee cord attached to the back of Fulton's belt.

While trying to maintain his technique, Fulton gets pulled backward so hard he backpedals faster than he could on his own.

This practice drill, brought to town by first-year line coach Eric Wolford, is just one way Illinois prepares to face the nation's top defense Saturday.

If Fulton and right tackle Akim Millington can handle the bungee, the theory goes, perhaps they can handle the Ohio State Buckeyes.

"That's just to overemphasize speed, because we're going to face a lot of that this week," said Fulton, describing the drill's point. "We're going to try to match up with their speed."

If the Illini can do it, Ron Zook's crew has a much better chance to pull off the program's first upset of a top-ranked team since Oct. 27, 1956.

Why put so much emphasis on the offensive line's performance?

Well, here's almost everything you need to know about Illinois' trip to top-ranked Ohio State:

• Illinois has allowed just 10 sacks all season, the ninth-best showing in the country.

• Ohio State racked up 10 sacks last week against Wisconsin.

Which perfect 10 will win out before a national television audience at Ohio Stadium? Judging by the stats, the Buckeyes look like a better bet.

They lead the nation in points allowed (7 touchdowns in 10 games) and yards allowed (221.2 per game).

"We've played them the last three years since I've been here and this, by far, seems to be the best defense that we've seen," said Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. "They're almost similar to the early '90s when I was preparing for Florida State when I was at Maryland. That's really good."

Junior end Vernon Gholston, one of five defenders who also started last season's ill-fated BCS championship game, registered 4 of his team-high 10 sacks against Wisconsin.

He will come blasting off one edge -- usually Millington's side -- while senior Larry Grant (8.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks) usually flies in from Fulton's side.

"Since they're beating everyone so badly (off the line)," Fulton said, "it seems like they're in pass-rush mode all the time."

Then, of course, there's likely Butkus Award winner James Laurinaitis handling everything else in between.

In addition to his team-high 85 tackles, the junior middle linebacker owns 7.5 TFLs, 5 sacks and 2 interceptions.

And the other eight starters -- including Thorpe Award semifinalist Malcolm Jenkins at the corner -- aren't slouches either.

"When you look at them on film, the first thing you notice, kind of like Michigan, is they're just fast," said Illinois junior center Ryan McDonald, a contender for all-Big Ten honors. "All over the field, everyone is athletic."

And apparently there's some sort of team rule that requires every Buckeye to rush to the ball carrier on every play.

"You put the film on and they hustle to the ball," Locksley said with a smile. "They've got 10, 12, sometimes 14 guys around the football."

Because they're so fast, the Buckeyes have the ability to take more chances than most defenses.

"You can gamble a little bit, and you can move around," McDonald said. "And if you've got people that are athletic enough to cover everybody's back, then you're going to have a good defense.

"There's hardly ever a play where they line up in a gap and then play that gap. That's been working real well for them so far."

But that constant shifting is something Illinois hopes to exploit. With McDonald, a future engineer and academic All-America candidate, making all of the line calls, Illinois figures to be as immune as possible to Ohio State's stunts.

"Some teams think by moving the line, you can have one guy less in the box and still have everything accounted for because you're counting on the offensive line to be confused," McDonald said.

"A lot of teams have tried to move around on us, so it's something we've been preparing for, and we're hoping it carries over."