Columbus, OH -- (Sports Network) - Daniel Herron and Brandon Saine combined for 156 yards on the ground, and the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes used a dominant rushing attack in rainy conditions to shut out the Illinois Fighting Illini, 30-0, at Ohio Stadium.

Herron ran for 75 yards and two scores on 14 carries, while Saine had 81 yards on 13 touches for Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten), which has won five of the last six meetings with Illinois. Terrelle Pryor had zero yards passing in the first half but finished with 82 yards and a score on 8-of-13 passing and 59 yards rushing in the win.

A ferocious Buckeyes defense posted its second straight shutout and limited the Illini to 170 total yards of offense while forcing three turnovers.

"It feels great to shut them out," said Ohio State senior defensive tackle Todd Denlinger. "Illinois has a high-powered offense. They're going to win a lot of games this season."

Juice Williams needed 171 yards of offense to break Illinois' (1-2, 0-1) all- time record but recorded only 95 yards on Saturday. He completed 13-of-25 passes for 77 yards with two interceptions while running for 18 yards on 15 carries.

"We told them we have got to keep plugging away," said Illinois coach Ron Zook. "Some have written us off and I don't blame them. We are a much better team than this. For whatever reason we're not playing a 60 minute game and we've got to start doing that."

Arrelious Benn, who had just one catch all season coming into the game, posted another subpar performance with four receptions for 33 yards. Mikel LeShoure was the leading rusher with 25 yards on four carries.

Due to the rainy conditions, Ohio State went strictly to its rushing attack after Pryor threw two incompletions on the opening drive.

Starting with the ball on Illinois' 46 with just under 11 minutes to go in the opening quarter, the Buckeyes rushed four consecutive times down to the 33, and Aaron Pettrey drilled a 50-yard field goal for the early lead.

The OSU defense held firm through the first quarter, and Pettrey added to the lead with a 46-yard field goal early in the second stanza for a 6-0 advantage. The nine-play series was comprised of all rushing plays, save for the field goal attempt.

The Illini were once again stymied by the Ohio State defense, and the Buckeyes got the ball back on their own 35 after a 15-yard penalty on Illinois. Again, using all rushing plays, OSU drove down the field. Herron and Pryor ran for 13 and 16 yards on the first two plays, respectively, and another personal foul on Illinois put the Buckeyes on the opposing 21. Herron was given the ball four straight times and ran into the end zone from four yards away for a 13-0 lead midway through the second.

Illinois threatened for the first time late in the half, getting down to the Ohio State 30, but two penalties pushed them back to the 45 and out of field goal range.

After forcing an Illini punt to start the second half, OSU added to its lead on Herron's two-yard touchdown run that capped a five-play, 39-yard drive.

Pettrey's 27-yard field goal with 2:28 to go in the third increased the advantage to 23-0, and Pryor threw a three-yard touchdown to Dane Sanzenbacher with 1:18 to play to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 62-30-4, although Illinois has won three of the last five games at The Horseshoe...The Illini are 3-7 in their last 10 games against ranked opponents...Ohio State has posted two straight shutouts for the first time since 1996.