The Ohio State Buckeyes are preparing for the toughest game they have in the Big Ten portion of the schedule. They will be traveling to Bloomington this weekend to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. It's a rematch of last year's Big Ten Championship Game, which saw IU win 13-10.
Last weekend, Ohio State crushed Maryland 45-16 in Columbus. However, they had several players out due to injury. Six starters were out for this game. However, Ryan Day indicated that injuries shouldn't be a huge problem as they take on the seventh-ranked Hoosiers.
Ryan Day claims Ohio State will have most players back from injury vs. IU
While speaking on the Buckeye Roundtable Show on Monday night, Day indicated that most, but not all, of the starters who missed the Maryland game should be able to return against Indiana.
“It was kind of a strange week. Some strange things, a few non-football-related issues that popped up. So just had to manage it the best we could ... I don’t think we’ll get all of them back, but we should get a good portion of them back for Indiana.”
Based on how things transpired over the weekend, the starter who might be out is Austin Siereveld. Siereveld was added to the injury report just hours before taking on the Terps. He had an illness, although Day has not indicated what it is. He will only say that Siereveld is day-to-day.
Siereveld might not play in Bloomington, but Philip Daniels will likely be back. Day indicated that he was close to returning against Maryland, but they decided to hold him out one more week. Ohio State desperately needs at least one of its starting tackles to play, as its depth at that position is an issue.
It would be nice to get Christian Alliegro and Jay Timmons back on defense. Timmons has already shown himself to be an impact player as a true freshman. Alliegro is one of the leaders at the linebacker position, as well.
Ohio State needs to be healthy before taking on Indiana
The Buckeyes might have more pure talent than the Hoosiers do, but they need to be healthy in order to win this game. They might not need Brandon Inniss to win the game, but having Devin McCuin available would be nice. Obviously, having a healthier offensive line would help, too.
IU has struggled in each of the last two games it has played. Yet, they won both games. Ohio State is going to need to play a complete game in order to walk out of Bloomington with a victory. If they do, they will easily be the favorite to win the Big Ten, which is their goal.
Curt Cignetti is confident that IU fans will come in with some noise. Bloomington is not usually a massive home-field advantage when the Buckeyes come to town. That might change in this one because of how good the Hoosiers are and who the opponent is.
Health could end up being the deciding factor in this game. Day seems confident that most of the guys he is counting on will be available. Buckeye fans are hoping the rest of the week gives them even better news.
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