Ohio State walked out of a wet, messy Saturday in Ohio Stadium with a 45-16 win over Maryland, but the scoreboard barely told the whole story. The Buckeyes were dominant enough to make the result look routine, yet the game itself was the kind of slopfest most people would just as soon erase from memory.
The bigger concern coming out of the win was health. By the end of the afternoon, Ohio State was missing five starters, and three of them came from the offensive line.
Phillip Daniels has not played since the Texas game on September 12, and hours before kickoff it was also revealed that Austin Siereveld would sit out as well because of an illness. Luke Montgomery then left the game with what looked like a leg injury, though he did return.
That forced Ohio State to improvise quickly up front against Maryland. Gabe VanSickle made the first tackle start of his college career, while Jake Cook, who had been working at tight end for the Buckeyes, lined up at right guard.
There’s still plenty of talent in that offensive line room, which is why the personnel shuffle stood out. Sam Greer, Carter Lowe, and Deontae Armstrong are there, along with Josh Padilla, who has played guard before and brings veteran experience to the mix.
The injury list didn’t stop with the line. Ohio State was also without two starting wide receivers, Brandon Innis and Devin McCuin, both sidelined with injuries.
Chris Henry Jr. made his first college start and made it count with a 46-yard catch from Julian Sayin. Outside of Jeremiah Smith, no Buckeye receiver had more than one catch on Saturday.
On the defensive side, Christian Alliegro and Jay Timmons were also out.
Even with all of that, Ohio State still looks like one of the best rosters in college football. The loss to Texas is there on the record, but the landscape around the sport hasn’t exactly made that defeat look any more damaging.
Texas just lost in Red River to an Oklahoma team that had looked lifeless over the last few weeks. Miami and Notre Dame have been rolling, but neither has really taken on top-tier competition.
Every other contender has at least one loss except Georgia.
That’s why the health piece matters so much now. Depth is at a premium, and Ohio State has major games ahead against Indiana, USC, and Oregon.
If Saturday’s issues were mostly precautionary, the Buckeyes can keep moving. If they’re not, it gets much harder to navigate a 16-game season.
For now, though, Ohio State still believes it can handle Indiana. The Buckeyes see it as a revenge spot after IU beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship a year ago.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Got A New Ranking Test Before Indiana
Georgias win over Alabama shook up the top of both major college football polls, and Ohio State came out of the weekend a little higher in the conversation as a result. The Buckeyes climbed to No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, keeping them firmly in the national title mix while the rest of the Top 5 continued to shuffle around them.
The new placement only adds more weight to what is coming next, because Ohio State is headed toward a Top-5 matchup with Indiana. With the rankings tightening and the stakes rising, the Buckeyes now have an even clearer read on where they stand, and a bigger test waiting to show whether this bump in the polls matches the on-field reality. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Turned Up The Heat On Two Committed 2027 Targets
A recent visit tied to Ohio States game against Maryland doubled as another reminder that the Buckeyes are already digging deep into the 2027 class. The program extended football scholarship offers to linebacker James Conrad and running back Kingston Allen, giving both prospects a fresh point of contact with one of the sports standard-bearers and putting two committed players on the radar in a very real way.
Conrad, who had been pledged to Buffalo, landed his first Power 4 offer from Ohio State, while Allen arrived in Columbus as a Wisconsin commit and left with an offer of his own. Both are regarded as highly ranked prospects with strong high school rsums, and the Buckeyes have clearly decided theyre worth pushing on early even with their current commitments elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Suddenly Faces A Tougher Indiana Test Than Expected
Indiana heads into its Big Ten matchup with Ohio State in a far better spot health-wise than some early-week injury chatter might have suggested. Tight end Andrew Barker remains the only long-term injured starter, and the Hoosiers have also gotten key defensive boosts with the returns of Daniel Ndukwe and A.J. Harris. That matters against a Buckeyes team that has spent the week managing a longer injury list of its own, with issues spread across the roster and enough uncertainty to make this game feel a little less predictable than it looked a few days ago.
For Ohio State, the concern is less about one single absence and more about how the accumulated wear shows up across the offense and defense. Injuries to offensive linemen, several receivers and multiple defenders can change the rhythm of a game fast, especially against an opponent that looks more stable and more settled entering kickoff. Indiana may still be the underdog on paper, but the matchup no longer looks like the kind of routine Saturday some expected when the week began. [Read more 🡒]