Buckeyes bite on fakes to Mendenhall

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When you've got a horse like Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield, you ride him.

Except when you know the nation's No. 1 defense plans to ride him into the turf.

That's why Mendenhall, who set Illinois' single-season rushing record in Saturday's 28-21 win over top-ranked Ohio State, also set an informal record for being involved in the most play-action fakes.

On 3 of Juice Williams' 4 touchdown passes, he faked to Mendenhall first to keep the linebackers at home.

The results?

• Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui was uncovered when he caught his 3-yard touchdown pass with 13:48 left in the first quarter.

• Flanker Jacob Willis had single coverage deep when he snagged Williams' 33-yard strike with 4:04 left in the first.

• Slot receiver Marques Wilkins went uncovered when he hauled in Williams' 31-yard scoring toss with 3:52 left in the third.

"We said, 'Let's come off (the ball), play action and get those linebackers to suck up,' " said offensive coordinator Mike Locksley. "We put them in run/pass conflicts and Juice found the open receivers."

Ohio State's outsized desire to crush Mendenhall revealed itself as early as Illinois' second play.

With Mendenhall and Daniel Dufrene on each side of Williams in the shotgun, Mendenhall started sweeping left as if to start the option.

But Williams handed the ball to Dufrene on a dive, which turned into an 80-yard sprint to the 3-yard line as everyone in the middle overscraped toward Mendenhall.

"That was a new wrinkle," Dufrene said. "We worked on it all week."

"We felt like with the option, that would pull some guys out of the box," Mendenhall said. "That did that and Daniel was able to get a seam and he exploded through it."

Mendenhall still finished with 26 carries for 88 yards, which pushed him way past Antoineo Harris' 1,330 yards in 2002. With two games to go, Mendenhall has 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns in 218 attempts.

"To get the record and my name in the books with some of the great running backs that came through here, it feels good," Mendenhall said. "It's going to be a nice feeling on the plane ride back home."

Leman's back: After managing a career-low 2 tackles in last week's win against Minnesota, senior middle linebacker J Leman went wild Saturday.

"J Leman's the best linebacker in the league, bar none," said Illinois co-defensive coordinator Dan Disch. "I know the voters get to vote on that, but he played pretty good tonight."

Sticking his nose into the pile on seemingly every play, Leman produced a team-high 12 tackles including 2½ for losses.

"I had some good keys going into the game," Leman said. "I don't reveal all my secrets, but I knew out of certain 'personnels' when they had one back in the game, I was getting a good read off the tackles for passes and the guards for pulls.

"And a lot of times, running backs will look where they're running. Sometimes it's simple."

Dufrene's pain: When junior backup Daniel Dufrene sprinted 80 yards on Illinois' second play from scrimmage, he dislocated the ring finger on his left hand.

Not that he cared.

"It didn't hurt," Dufrene said. "I just pulled it back into place and played. Now it's swollen."

Also, Dufrene refuted slow-motion replays that suggested he fumbled at the end of his 80-yard jaunt.

"I don't think I fumbled," he said. "Once I hit the ground it came out."

Injury ward: Cornerback Vontae Davis and receiver Arrelious Benn missed the lion's share of the game with concussions.

They're both expected to be ready for Saturday's finale against Northwestern.

Fullback Russ Weil injured his left knee in the first quarter and didn't return. Backup Rahkeem Smith played a few snaps in his absence. It's not known if Weil will be available next week.

He said it: The last time Illinois played at Ohio State, Juice Williams' return of a blocked extra point served as the Illini's offensive output in the 40-2 loss.

Ron Zook didn't forget that Nov. 5, 2005 afternoon, or the phone call he received shortly thereafter.

"We were here two years ago and I was just stepping on the airplane after we got beat pretty good … and Juice called me. And I said, 'Juice, two years from now when we come back here, it's going to be a different story.' "