Ohio State football: Injuries finally did the Buckeyes season in
The Ohio State football team played the Georgia Bulldogs neck to neck on Saturday night in the Peach Bowl. Injuries finally took their toll on the Buckeyes.
The Ohio State football team was rolling and feeling good for most of the game on Saturday night. The Buckeyes were able to weather the loss of tight end Cade Stover. They were able to overcome the loss of TreVeyon Henderson and the limited action of Miyan Williams in the running back room.
But losing star receiver and possibly the best player in the Peach Bowl, Marvin Harrison Jr. to a concussion finally did the Buckeyes in. Ohio State was able to only score three fourth-quarter points as Georgia came back to win.
But it was the totality of the injuries suffered that made the fourth quarter difficult for Ohio State to score in. Ohio State lost its top three running backs in Henderson, Williams and Evan Pryor, who was hurt before the season began. That led to true freshman running back Dallan Hayden playing meaningful snaps. It also meant that Xavier Johnson had to mix in the rotation.
But in the fourth quarter, Johnson couldn’t play running back because he had to play wide receiver for the injured Harrison. Cade Stover could have played a role in that fourth quarter as well, but Joe Royer was in for him.
Oh, and we’re forgetting about maybe the best receiver in college football, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who hasn’t suited up since the Iowa game. Add all this together and it was just too much for the Buckeyes to overcome in a talent-equated game.
I don’t believe enough is being said for how great of a job these coaches have done offensively with the number of injuries they’ve had to deal with. To get them in a position to win that game at the end was miraculous.
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That doesn’t make the loss anymore easier to bare. Ohio State needed to get those last five to 10 yards to make Noah Ruggles’ kick easier. They didn’t do it. But injuries finally took their final toll on the season at the worst possible time.