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Ohio State Defense Takes Over With Takeaways At Illinois

Twelve.

That was the number of touchdown passes Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer had thrown in the 2025 season without tossing a single interception. But Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. knew that would change on Saturday.

“I knew he was going to come in and throw one. I knew he was going to throw one on us,” Mathews said with a smile after telling reporters of his “Defense crazy ain’t it. Defense crazy.”

Ohio State’s defense is indeed crazy, Mr. Mathews. But it was crazy in a whole new way vs. the No.