Ohio State is at full strength as it goes duck-hunting on Saturday.
Every scholarship player is available for the No. 2 Buckeyes as they prepare to square off with No. 3 Oregon on the road in one of the regular season's most massive college football matchups, marking the return of wide receiver Carnell Tate.
| OSU STATUS REPORT FOR OREGON |
|---|
| Out |
| RB TC Caffey (Season) |
Walk-on running back TC Caffey, out for the season with a torn ACL, is the only player listed as either questionable or out on the team's availability report.
Tate was listed as questionable due to an undisclosed injury ahead of Ohio State's game against Iowa last week, but ultimately did not play as Bryson Rodgers and Brandon Inniss filled in at receiver. Ryan Day confirmed afterward that the holdout was precautionary.
“If we needed to put him in the game, he absolutely could have played, but we just felt like it was the right thing to do (to keep him out),” Day said after the Buckeyes' 35-7 win. “Hopefully we'll have 100% Carnell going into next week.”
Despite having four games instead of five on his ledger, Tate is third behind Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith in receptions and receiving yards for the Buckeyes in 2024, with 14 catches for 219 yards and one touchdown. Day confirmed Tate's return was in the cards on Wednesday.
With Tate back in the lineup, Ohio State is slated to play all 22 of its offensive and defensive starters for the first time this season. Both left guard Donovan Jackson and linebacker Cody Simon missed the Buckeyes' season-opener against Akron, Jackson missed Week 2 against Western Michigan and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams missed Week 4 and 5 against Marshall and Michigan State before Tate missed the Iowa contest.
Ohio State and Oregon kick off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
