Ohio State's offensive line suffered its first major injury of Urban Meyer's tenure Saturday when Branden Bowen suffered a season-ending leg injury, fracturing his tibia and fibula against Maryland.
Since Meyer arrived in 2012, Ohio State has not lost a starting offensive lineman to injury for a significant amount of time. Its last injury was to Michael Jordan in a 31-0 loss to Clemson, the last game of the 2016 season.
Matt Burrell, who had competed with Bowen, Malcolm Pridgeon and others for the starting right guard spot in fall camp, filled in for Bowen for the rest of the win against the Terps. But Meyer would not commit to Burrell as the full-time starter moving forward.
"Right now looks like Matt Burrell. And we'll see if there's any competition at that spot," Meyer said. "That's alarming, but Matt played OK. So we'll see what happens there."
When Jordan left last year's loss to the Tigers, it was Demetrius Knox who filled in at left guard.
Ohio State starting center Billy Price said if Burrell is indeed the next man up at right guard for the Buckeyes, he would like to see Burrell become more confident in his own game moving forward.
"I think the biggest thing is probably confidence right now," Price said of Burrell. "He is always questioning, 'Hey, did I do this right?' Football is a game of highs and lows, and you just have to go out and play."
Bowen had surgery Saturday night, but is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Awake and well. Surgery was good. Buckeyenation your support is unreal! The Best Damn Fans in The Land ! I appreciate you all! Go Bucks!
— Branden Bowen (@BrandenBowen) October 8, 2017
Jerome Baker Breaks Through
Coming off of a stellar 2016 season, Jerome Baker entered the 2017 campaign surrounded by talks of a first-round NFL draft pick.
Through five games, however, Baker was behind a pair of Ohio State safeties for tackles on the season and had yet to make the big play that Buckeye fans had become accustomed to seeing.
That all changed against Maryland, as the Cleveland native collected a 20-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in addition to a sack and a forced fumble. On his touchdown, the second of his career, Baker said he was in man coverage on Maryland running back Ty Johnson before Nick Bosa forced the fumble after sacking quarterback Max Bortenschlager.
"That's a great running back they have, and I was just doing my job," Baker said. "I saw the ball, scooped it up and ran fast."
The linebackers as a whole for Ohio State appear to be playing better, as Dante Booker built on his stellar performance against Rutgers, tallying four tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss against Maryland.
Baker said the Buckeyes have settled into their roles and are getting back to playing instinctive football.
"We're just locked in," he said. "We were so worried about making mistakes and doing the wrong thing."
Ohio State middle linebacker Tuf Borland, starting again for Chris Worley, collected three tackles in the win.
Ward, Arnette Ejected For Targeting
Ohio State had not one but two corners ejected for targeting against Maryland as both Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette had to watch the end of the game from the Buckeye locker room.
Ward's ejection came in the first quarter, while Arnette's ejection came late in the third quarter. While Meyer said he did not see the hit that got Ward tossed, he was upset with Arnette and his hit on Bortenschlager that got him ejected.
"I saw Damon's right in front of me. It's (55-7), and I'm so angry about that," Meyer said. "And he'll probably have to sit for the first half (against Nebraska). Not very bright."
Because Ward's ejection occurred in the first half, he will be eligible to play immediately when Ohio State travels to Nebraska next week. However, Arnette will have to sit for the first half against the Cornhuskers because his ejection occurred in the second half.
Freshman cornerback Jeffrey Okudah earned significant playing time with both Ward and Arnette out, and Meyer said he has seen the rookie improve each week he has been a Buckeye.
"He's on a steady incline. He's a true freshman, one of the top recruits in America, and we thought we'd get some production out of him," Meyer said. "And I think everybody is excited — I know everybody is very excited about his future, and it's time for him to go. And we're obviously playing him. He's part of the rotation now."
Injury Report
Outside of Bowen's setback, the Buckeyes remained healthy against the Terps. However, there were plenty of noticeable absences from Ohio State's victory. What follows is a quick rundown of those absences.
- Chris Worley missed his third straight game after suffering a leg injury against Army. He was dressed and participated in pregame warmups, but did not play.
- Dre'Mont Jones missed his second straight game following a leg injury suffered in what Ohio State called a locker room incident. Meyer said he expects Jones to play against Nebraska next week.
- Shaun Wade did not dress for Ohio State's game against Maryland. He has yet to make his first appearance as a Buckeye.
