Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes are set to face 5-5 Rutgers today to continue their dominance at the top. Before their win against Purdue, there were injury concerns around WRs Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith. While Tate was ruled out of the game, Smith featured in their 48-10 victory. What’s their status going into the Rutgers game?

ESPN’s Pete Thamel relayed some concerning news for the Ohio State fans. According to him, neither Jeremiah Smith nor Carnell Tate is expected to play against Rutgers.

“Ohio State star wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith are not expected to play against Rutgers today. Both are considered day-to-day as they deal with lower-body injuries,” reported Thamel. Losing both WRs won’t surely be concerning, but it’s still a caution going into the Michigan game.

Carnell Tate has been out ever since the Purdue game on November 8, and the Rutgers game would be his third straight absence. The issue arose before the Purdue game, as Tate reported lower leg tightness during warm-ups. For now, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has described Tate’s injury as an opportunity to suit up other players and make backups game-sharp before the Michigan game.

“We felt like he was going to be OK to play. But when he went through warmups, he just felt something there, and we wanted to be really careful. Could he have played? Probably. It gives us an opportunity to get some other guys in the game,” said the OSU head coach. Tate has accumulated 711 receiving yards in the season and is the leading receiver behind Jeremiah Smith.

That could hurt Ohio State slightly against Rutgers. Still, players like Max Klare and Brandon Inniss can easily fill Tate’s spot against Rutgers. As for Jeremiah Smith, the injury issues have been there for him ever since the UCLA game.

Ryan Day opens up on the extent of Jeremiah Smith’s injury

Jeremiah Smith suffered a lower-body injury against UCLA and played just 22 snaps. The sophomore has reportedly been limited in practices since the injury, and Ryan Day is exercising caution because winning against Michigan is crucial this year. Day has a 1-4 record against the Wolverines, and fans are looking to bank on OSU’s unbeaten run to end Michigan’s playoff hopes on the road. That’s also the reason the OSU head coach is treading cautiously for Smith.

“Jeremiah had a certain number of plays. They felt like, you know, we’re just going to hold him, make sure that he’s at 100% here over the next week. Jeremiah was just having a little bit of a nagging issue there that we just wanted to make sure that we’re being really smart with him, as we know what’s coming down the road here,” said Ryan Day on 16th November.

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Jeremiah Smith has been extremely prolific for the team and has accumulated 902 receiving yards already. OSU’s #4 had some of the best games against Purdue, where he received for 137 yards, and Penn State, receiving for 123 yards. Never mind his Washington performance on the road when he notched 81 yards for a touchdown.

Losing both Smith and Carnell Tate would surely make the scoreboard a little narrow for OSU. However, Rutgers is a 33.5-point underdog going into the game. Only bookmakers would be concerned about the two WRs’ availability against Rutgers. Considering everything, Ryan Day’s team should have no trouble winning the game.