COLUMBUS — Two years ago, Illinois frustrated top-ranked Ohio State in a stunning upset at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes’ defense never gave Juice Williams and the Illini a chance to even start dreaming of another victory in their return to the Horseshoe.

Dan Herron slogged through a downpour for two touchdowns on Saturday and No. 13 Ohio State collected a second straight shutout for the first time in 13 years, beating the mistake-prone Illini 30-0.

‘‘We want a mentality that we want to get to the ball, have at least five or six guys at the minimum there,’’ defensive lineman Doug Worthington said. ‘‘And we did a good job doing that today.’’

With most of the game played in a soaking rain, the Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) relied on their defense and running game — failing to complete a pass in the opening half — to steamroll the Illini (1-2, 0-1).

‘‘We wanted to lead with the run and mix in the pass had it been a beautiful day,’’ Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ‘‘But you know that didn’t make sense with the circumstances. It was hard to throw the ball but I think it was even harder to catch it.’’

And it was even harder to catch the Buckeyes when they ran.

Brandon Saine rushed for 81 yards on 13 carries and Herron had 75 on 14 attempts — scoring on runs of 4 and 2 yards — and the defense did the rest.

‘‘I was just running through wide-open holes,’’ Saine marveled. ‘‘Come on — anyone could go through those holes.’’

Williams, who engineered that 28-21 upset of Ohio State in 2007, and the offense was held to 170 yards.

‘‘It’s like a nightmare,’’ Williams said of the offensive woes. ‘‘A nightmare from which you can’t wake up.’’

Even when the Illini were able to move the ball, they frequently were stopped by penalties (eight for 71 yards) or turnovers (interceptions by Lawrence Wilson, Jermale Hines and Brian Rolle).

Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor misfired on both of his pass attempts in the first half but the Buckeyes still led 13-0. He ended up completing 8 of 13 passes for 82 yards with an interception, tossing a 3-yard TD toss to Dane Sanzenbacher long after the outcome had been decided with 1:18 left. Pryor also rushed for 59 yards on 11 attempts.

Aaron Pettrey kicked field goals of 50, 46 and 27 yards.

There were bad feelings between the teams early on. Before warmups Ohio State’s players massed atop the school logo at the 50 and traded taunts with the Illini, who ran right up to the Buckeyes.

OSU stats

No. 13 OHIO ST. 30, ILLINOIS 0

Illinois 0 0 0 0 — 0

Ohio State 3 10 10 7 — 30

First Quarter

OSU—FG Pettrey 50, 8:09.

Second Quarter

OSU—FG Pettrey 46, 12:46.

OSU—Herron 4 run (Pettrey kick), 7:30.

Third Quarter

OSU—Herron 2 run (Pettrey kick), 10:55.

OSU—FG Pettrey 27, 2:28.

Fourth Quarter

OSU—Sanzenbacher 3 pass from Pryor (Pettrey kick), 1:18.

A—105,219.

———

Ill OSU

First downs 14 19

Rushes-yards 34-82 46-236

Passing 88 82

Comp-Att-Int 15-29-3 8-13-0

Return Yards 0 73

Punts-Avg. 8-40.0 3-38.3

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 3-2

Penalties-Yards 8-71 4-40

Time of Possession 29:00 31:00

———

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Illinois, LeShoure 4-25, Ford 5-20, J.Williams 15-18, Dufrene 6-14, Benn 1-8, McGee 3-(minus 3). Ohio State, Saine 13-81, Herron 14-75, Pryor 11-59, J.Hall 7-22, Team 1-(minus 1).

PASSING—Illinois, J.Williams 13-25-2-77, McGee 2-4-1-11. Ohio State, Pryor 8-13-0-82.

RECEIVING—Illinois, Benn 4-33, Hoomanawanui 2-13, Ramsey 2-11, Ford 2-5, LeShoure 1-7, Cumberland 1-6, Fayson 1-5, Pollard 1-5, Dufrene 1-3. Ohio State, Sanzenbacher 3-36, Posey 2-22, Saine 1-12, Ballard 1-6, Z.Boren 1-6.