COLUMBUS — No. 4 Ohio State will play its biggest game of the season so far without a starting offensive lineman, after the Buckeyes listed Austin Siereveld as out for Saturday’s trip to No. 5 Indiana on the week’s first availability report.
The matchup in Bloomington pairs two top-five teams and stands as Ohio State’s stiffest test of the year. Losing a starter up front for it forces a reshuffle on the line that protects the Buckeyes’ offense against one of the best teams on their schedule.
The expected plan is a familiar one. Philip Daniels, who is off the injury report this week, is the likely choice at right tackle, with Gabe VanSickle at right guard, as Ohio State reconfigures the right side of its line around Siereveld’s absence.
Siereveld is not the only Buckeye ruled out. Running back Ja’Kobi Jackson will also miss the Indiana game, thinning a running back room that has more names on the report: fellow back Isaiah West is listed as questionable, as are wide receiver Brock Boyd and defensive end Khary Wilder.
That puts added weight on Bo Jackson. The freshman is Ohio State’s second-leading rusher this season, with 354 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, and the Buckeyes will need a whole lot of him in Bloomington if West cannot go or is limited.
There is good news on the report as well. Wide receivers Brandon Inniss and Devin McCuin are both back after Ohio State managed without the pair last week — a far harder trick to repeat on the road against a top-five opponent, where every reliable target matters.
The defense also gets help. Cornerback Jay Timmons and linebacker Christian Alliegro are both off the availability report after missing the Maryland game, restoring depth at two levels of a defense that will be tested by an Indiana team that has already beaten the Buckeyes when the stakes were enormous.
For the Buckeyes, the week now becomes a balancing act: settle the new right side of the offensive line in practice, decide how much of the running game Bo Jackson can carry, and hold the questionable players’ status open as long as the reporting rules allow. A first availability report is a snapshot, not a final word, and the questionable designations for West, Boyd and Wilder could still move in either direction before Saturday.
Ohio State and Indiana meet Saturday in Bloomington. NewsForce247 will note any changes on the final availability report before kickoff and will have the result Saturday night.