WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (WCMH) — One of Ohio State’s starting receivers and two running backs are unavailable when the No. 3 Buckeyes face Purdue at noon on Peacock.
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka did not travel with the team to West Lafayette after suffering a lower body injury in the second half against Maryland last week. In his place, expect the Buckeyes to turn to captain Xavier Johnson and freshman Carnell Tate.
Ohio State running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams will also be out for the Buckeyes. Henderson was held out against Maryland for ‘precautionary reasons’ and is on the sideline without pads on at Purdue.
That means Chip Trayanum will get a lion’s share of the carries with Dallan Hayden and Evan Pryor backing him up. Weather could also be an issue with light rain showers and wind gusts between 20 and 30 miles per hour in the forecast.
“We spent some time talking about [the weather],” Day said. “I don’t think the winds look crazy. It looks like it’s going to be a lot of rain so we gotta be able to handle that and still run our offense.”
That type of weather could force Ohio State to run the ball more often, which it has struggled to do this season. The Buckeyes rank 96th in the country in rushing yards per game and only averaged 1.9 yards per carry against the Terrapins.
Buckeyes unavailable against Purdue
- Nolan Baudo
- TC Caffey
- Emeka Egbuka
- Kyion Graves
- TreVeyon Henderson
- Zak Herbstreit
- Joe Royer
- Will Smith
- Reis Stockdale
- Kourt Williams II
- Miyan Williams
The Boilermakers have been the Buckeyes’ kryptonite in West Lafayette, Indiana, with OSU holding a 3-5 record at Purdue since 2000.
The Boilermakers are 3-2 against top-five teams in the last five years and have beaten the Buckeyes four times when they were ranked in the top five. But Ohio State is 33-0 against unranked opponents under coach Ryan Day.
