Illinois @ Ohio State

Ohio State rolled to a 36-6 victory over Illinois in Columbus on January 12, 2024, at The Ohio State University. The Buckeyes’ win was driven by an onslaught of bonus-point finishes that separated the teams across multiple weights.

The match featured several decisive results for Ohio State. At 125 pounds Brendan McCrone recorded a fall, putting six bonus points on the board. Jesse Mendez picked up a 12-2 major decision at 141 to add four more points. In the upper weights Luke Geog dominated at 197, going 18-2 for a technical fall, and heavyweight Nick Feldman closed with a 17-2 technical fall at 285. Those four bouts highlighted the gap between the squads.

Those bonus-point victories were decisive. In all, Ohio State collected six bonus wins that contributed 30 team points, equal to the final margin of victory, and gave the Buckeyes a comfortable cushion that Illinois could not overcome. The tech falls at 197 and 285, combined with the pin at 125 and the major at 141, turned several individual matches into game-changing team points.

Illinois managed just six team points across the dual and could not match Ohio State’s run of bonus results. The Buckeyes’ collection of pins, majors and technical falls left little room for a comeback and produced a lopsided Big Ten dual outcome.