CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Ohio State’s 34-16 win over Illinois on Saturday wasn’t perfect but there also was no need to apologize for it.

That was the tone coach Ryan Day and the No. 1 Buckeyes’ players set after raising their record to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten with a win over an Illinois team hoping to get a statement win, which would have been the biggest victory by the Illini with Bret Bielema as their coach.

Ohio State’s offense struggled at times and finished the game with only 272 total yards. Quarterback Julian Sayin was 19 of 27 for 166 yards and threw touchdown passes to Jeremiah Smith and Bo Jackson, who was OSU’s leading rusher with 47 yards on 10 carries.

But the defense compensated for the below-average offensive numbers.

Payton Pierce’s interception in the first quarter led to a 1-yard touchdown run by C.J. Donaldson that gave Ohio State a 10-0 lead after its first two possessions of the game.

Kayden McDonald forced a fumble and recovered it, which led to Sayin’s touchdown pass to Jackson and gave OSU a 20-0 lead late in the second quarter.

Jermaine Mathews created a third turnover when he sacked Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, who fumbled and Caden Curry recovered it.

“Honestly, was it all perfect? No. But they’re a good team,” Day said about Illinois (5-2 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten games). “We all expect perfection, including me. I thought we played well at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth but then we kind of took our foot off the pedal.

“It’s a good sign when you have to go into a locker room after a win like this and kind of make sure everybody understands what a great win it was. We all felt like we left a little bit on the field. But that being said, I think the effort was excellent and I liked the look in our eye. The defense created a bunch of turnovers and when that happens, the chances of winning are obviously in our favor,” he said.

Sayin said, “There’s definitely stuff to learn from that game. Every game you learn from. The good plays that we did make were awesome to see and I think we’re going to keep building on them.”

Tight end Max Klare, in his first year at OSU after transferring from Purdue, picked up on Ohio State’s pursuit of perfection quickly.

“You get the feel from the guys around you and what the guys expect and I think it’s awesome. You expect to dominate every game and that is awesome. A win’s a win, so that is good. But we know we could have put a better foot forward, so there’s still a lot to work on,” he said.

Ohio State had the lead the rest of the game after Jayden Fielding’s 26-yard field goal on its first possession.

The lead grew to 10-0 on its second possession after Pierce’s interception allowed the Buckeyes to start their second drive at the Illini’s 35-yard line.

A 31-yard field goal by Fielding gave Ohio State a 13-0 lead and Sayin’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Jackson made it 20-0 with 3:48 left in the first half.

Illinois got on the scoreboard with 1:05 left in the first half on a 24-yard field goal by David Olano to cut the lead to 20-3. The Illini scored first in the second half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Aidan Laughery but OSU took control of the game with a touchdown run by Donaldson and Sayin’s touchdown throw to Smith.