Ohio State crushed Maryland 45-16, but that comfortable scoreboard covered up a problem Ryan Day can’t afford to ignore. Six starters were missing, and apparently, injuries weren’t the only reason. Day admitted that some unusual, non-football-related issues had disrupted his lineup, although he refused to explain exactly what happened. The Buckeyes got away with it against Maryland, but Indiana won’t be nearly as forgiving. With a top-five showdown looming in Bloomington, Ohio State could be walking into one of its biggest games of the season without a full-strength roster. And Day’s latest update did little to eliminate that concern.
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Speaking on Monday’s Buckeye Roundtable show, the head coach offered some optimism but stopped short of guaranteeing that all six starters would return.
“ I don’t know if we’ll get them all back, but I’m hoping to get the majority of these guys back,” he said, via Eleven Warrior’s Dan Hope. “We’ll see how they come in tomorrow. It was kind of a strange week, with some strange things, a few non-football-related issues that popped up. So we just had to manage it the best we could. But yeah, I don’t think we’ll get all of them back, but we should get a good portion of them back for Indiana.”
Ryan Day did not spell out those issues or attach specific explanations to every player’s absence. What matters for Ohio State is whether the missing pieces can return before Saturday’s trip to Bloomington.
The six starters who missed Ohio State’s matchup against Maryland were:
- Brandon Inniss (WR)
- Devin McCuin (WR)
- Austin Siereveld (OL)
- Phillip Daniels (OL)
- Christian Alliegro (LB)
- Jay Timmons (Nickelback)
However, their situations were not identical. McCuin and Timmons were considered game-time decisions and even participated in portions of pregame warmups before ultimately sitting out. Their involvement offers some hope that both could return against Indiana, provided they make enough progress during the week.
Daniels has missed four consecutive games since suffering an injury against Texas, and Day offered a positive update after the Maryland win.
“I think we can get Phil back,” he said. “I think he’ll have a full week of practice. That’s the plan.”
Daniels will still need to get through the week before anyone can treat his return as a done deal.
Siereveld, Alliegro, and Inniss were all ruled out against Maryland despite having played against Iowa. Their availability for Indiana remains uncertain.
Siereveld’s situation was particularly disruptive because Ohio State learned he would not play just hours before kickoff against Maryland. His absence was attributed to an illness by a source familiar with the situation, rather than a reported football injury. Day described his status as “day-to-day” after the game.
The late setback forced Ohio State to make an adjustment up front. Gabe VanSickle moved to right tackle while Jake Cook stepped into the right guard spot. The Buckeyes got through the afternoon with a 29-point victory, but Indiana presents a different kind of test.
Saturday’s matchup carries extra weight after Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 in last December’s Big Ten Championship Game. The Hoosiers went on to win the national title, while the Buckeyes now have another chance to measure themselves against the program that knocked them off the conference summit.
Both teams enter the October 17 meeting ranked in the top five, putting conference positioning and the CFP picture firmly in the background of an already significant game. Ohio State’s win over Maryland kept the immediate momentum intact, but facing the defending champions in Bloomington with a depleted lineup is hardly ideal. The next few practices should provide a clearer picture of whether Day will have enough of his starters back for the rematch.