Ohio State saw its status in the college football world take another dive Saturday, after dropping their fifth loss of the season, this one to Illinois, 46-20.The Buckeyes` 73 consecutive week run in the Associated Press top 25 ended.They gave Illinois its sixth victory, making them, not the Buckeyes, bowl eligible.And the 46 points allowed was the most given up by an OSU team since a 58-6 loss against Michigan in 1946. It was their worst loss to Illinois since 1904.Now the Buckeyes (6-5, 3-4) are faced with a must-win situation next week against Michigan in Ann Arbor (where coach John Cooper is 0-5) to go to a bowl game.”I don`t know what to say,” a resigned Cooper said. “I`m not very happy with this football team.”I really feel badly for our senior players.”In their final game at Ohio Stadium, the seniors saw an Illinois (6-4, 3-4) team play a nearly mistake-free game, racking up 396 yards of offense, committing no turnovers and converting half of their third down attempts.OSU was far from matching the Illini`s effort, giving up three turnovers, converting only four of 12 third down attempts (zero of two on fourth down) and allowing Illinois to score nine times on 13 possessions in the first half.”They made plays in the ballgame and we didn`t,” Cooper said. “They came to play and we didn`t.”The Bucks looked mistake-prone from the beginning. Their opening drive ended in a fumble when quarterback Steve Bellisari pitched out in a toss sweep to tailback Jonathan Wells. The ball sailed two feet past Wells and was recovered by Illinois.”We had a few turnovers that hurt us,” said offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs.On the Illini`s ensuing drive, a few short runs and one deep pass got them inside OSU`s 10. The Bucks held out however, allowing only a field goal.After OSU`s ensuing drive was ended by three straight incomplete passes, Illinois added a second field goal with 5:12 left in the first quarter.To open up the second quarter, the Illini wasted no time, going deep and connecting with a 30-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion attempt failed, giving Illinois a 12-0 lead.With 10 minutes left in the half, Illinois scored another touchdown, to go up 19-0. The Bucks finally made their offensive presence felt with a 6-play, 80-yard drive ending with a 35-yard touchdown run by Wiley with seven minutes left, however Illinois responded, hitting a 50-yard field goal to go up 22-7.Receiver Ken-Yon Rambo took the ensuing kickoff out of the Bucks` end zone and had the ball knocked loose on the 18-yard line. Illinois would recover on the one-yard line, and on third down with nine seconds left, would score a touchdown to go up 29-7.Illinois, who mainly threw its way to three touchdowns and three field goals in the first half, ran their way to their next score, with their only complete pass a 25-yard touchdown score, giving the Illini a 36-7 lead. OSU finally caught a break on its next drive: Bellisari fumbled a snap and was caught for a 20-yard-plus loss. However, a face mask penalty brought the ball all the way up to Illinois` 30-yard line. Two plays later, Bellisari`s pass was caught by Matt Keller for the touchdown and a 36-14 score. OSU stopped Illinois on their next drive but a block in the back penalty on the ensuing kickoff put the Bucks on their own 9-yard-line. They managed to drive inside Illini territory, but an errant Bellisari pass was picked off and brought back to the OSU 18.Illinois would take five plays to get into the end zone to go up 43-14.Wiley would score with 11:17 left after big runs by Keller and Jonathan Wells got OSU in the red zone, but the missed extra point would keep OSU down 43-20. Illinois would tack on another field goal to go up 46-20, and with under five minutes left, game had already been notched in the Bucks` loss column.”It wasn`t our day,” said tailback Michael Wiley, who carried 19 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.OSU did manage 384 yards offense, only 12 less than Illinois, but three sacks, six tackles for a loss, three breakups and plenty of hurries had the Bucks` offense running back just as often as forward.Bellisari, who was nine of 24 passing for 133 yards and one touchdown, was asked afterwards if this was his worst nightmare.”Pretty close,” he said.