LINCOLN, Neb. - Ohio State suffered its first major injury on the offensive line in Urban Meyer's tenure last week when Branden Bowen was lost for the season due to a leg injury.
Matthew Burrell replaced Bowen against Maryland last week, but lost his job during Ohio State's week of preparation heading into the game against Nebraska, as Demetrius Knox played every snap with the first-team offense in the Buckeyes' 56-14 win with the first-team offense.
Knox was Ohio State's first offensive lineman off the Buckeye bench in a 31-0 loss to Clemson in last year's Fiesta Bowl, but visibly struggled. Burrell had been the first man off the bench for Ohio State this season, but Knox won the open competition during the week.
"Demetrius Knox swung in and played very well," head coach Urban Meyer said following the win over the Cornhuskers. "This is the kind of bend-but-won't-break defense we were getting ready to play. I was very proud of those guys."
Knox filled in at right guard, which was Billy Price's position for the first three years of his Ohio State career. Now at center, Price said he was impressed with how Knox handled his first career start for the Buckeyes.
"Demetrius stepped in very well. I was very satisfied with what he did today," Price said. "Obviously, we want to watch film to see what we can improve on. I'm just happy for Demetrius."
Ohio State's offensive line led the way for 279 yards rushing and allowed just one sack, as the Buckeyes threw for 354 yards in the air. Knox's competition for the right guard spot — Burrell and Malcolm Pridgeon — earned playing time, but only with the game already well in hand.
Injuries Mount
Ohio State has been bitten by the injury bug this year perhaps more than in years past, and that was even more true in the win over Nebraska.
Wide receiver Parris Campbell, offensive lineman Jamarco Jones and defensive linemen Jalyn Holmes and Haskell Garrett all left the game with injuries and did not return.
Meyer said that Campbell did not return for precautionary reasons and hinted that Holmes and Jones would be OK.
Campbell's injury occurred early in the first quarter, when the Akron, Ohio native took a big hit on a bubble screen from quarterback J.T. Barrett. He walked off under his own power but did not return to action. In his place, K.J. Hill and C.J. Saunders earned extended playing time.
Hill caught seven passes for 80 yards and a pair of scores from Barrett, while Saunders collected two passes for 19 yards in the win.
Holmes left the game in the third quarter with what appeared to be a head injury. He was escorted by a handful of trainers to the Ohio State locker room off the field and did not return. He tallied three total tackles in the game before exiting.
Jones left the game with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter and did not return, but later tweeted that he was OK.
Garrett's injury occurred with just three seconds left on the game clock as Nebraska tried to get a late touchdown on the scoreboard. He too walked off under his own power.
The good news for Ohio State was it got a handful of players back from injury and/or suspension against Nebraska as defensive tackle Michael Hill, linebacker Chris Worley and safety Erick Smith all returned.
Memorial Stadium Clears Out Early
A tradition-rich program such as Nebraska is not used to having its fans file out at halftime.
However, that was what happened Saturday as the Buckeyes took a 35-0 lead into the locker room. Just 30 minutes into the game, fans immediately began heading for the exits, leaving few of the announced crowd of 89,346 left to watch the rest of the game.
We have officially hit a new low at Nebraska. Fans don't know what to expect anymore. We need a complete overhaul to bring us back #Huskers pic.twitter.com/uRb1Aa56IS
— Scott Taylor (@NiceShotShooter) October 15, 2017
Multiple Ohio State players said they noticed the absence of Nebraska fans in the stadium after the first half.
"We actually talked about that," Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin said when asked about Nebraska fans leaving the game early. "With a tradition-rich program like this, it was loud that first third-down. We scored every time we touched it for the most part. That is what you have to do in a tough road environment."
