The Ohio State Buckeyes were banged up in Week 6, playing without six starters in their win over Maryland. Indiana looms next in a huge Week 7 top-5 college football matchup. There’s a good chance that game played a part in Ohio State’s decision to hold out so many players against the Terrapins.

Ohio State was without wide receivers Brandon Inniss and Devin McCuin, offensive linemen Austin Siereveld and Phillip Daniels, nickelback Jay Timmons, and linebacker Christian Alliegro in the win. It sounds like the Buckeyes will get several of those players back for the Indiana game. Still, the team taking the field in Bloomington won’t be fully healthy.

Ryan Day provides an update on Ohio State’s injured starters

Ohio State coach Ryan Day shared where things stand with the group heading into the week, and his comments are going to raise some eyebrows. 

“I don’t know if we’ll get them all back, but I’m hoping to get the majority of these guys back. We’ll see how they come in tomorrow,” Day said, via Eleven Warriors. “It was kind of a strange week, with some strange things, a few non-football-related issues that popped up. So we just had to manage it the best we could. But yeah, I don’t think we’ll get all of them back, but we should get a good portion of them back for Indiana.”

Based on Day’s comments, Ohio State will be missing at least one starter against the Hoosiers and potentially more. Not the most ideal spot for a road matchup against a 6-0 team.

Day’s mention of strange things popping up during the week is going to lead to plenty of intrigue around the Buckeyes’ injury situation. He also made it clear the staff had to adjust on the fly to get through the Maryland game.

Austin Siereveld’s status stands out for the Buckeyes

Of all the absences, Siereveld’s sticks out the most. Ohio State revealed that Siereveld took a test before the game, and the team didn’t know until hours before kickoff that he wasn’t going to be able to play against Maryland.

That’s an absence that could potentially linger for Ohio State. It’s a problem because Siereveld is the most versatile player on the offensive line, and he has multiple years of starting experience.

With Siereveld out, the Buckeyes slid Gabe VanSickle over from right guard to start at right tackle. From there, Ohio State inserted Jake Cook at right guard. That could be the combination the Buckeyes go with again against Indiana if Siereveld is unable to play.

Shuffling the right side of the line was manageable against Maryland. Doing it against a top-5 opponent on the road is a much bigger ask. This is a game Ohio State badly needs. The Hoosiers are the reigning Big Ten champions after beating the Buckeyes last season, and they’ve carried that momentum into a 6-0 start.

It won’t be easy for Ohio State to get revenge in Bloomington. How healthy the Buckeyes are will play a major role in the outcome and in how good of a product Ohio State puts on the field Saturday. Day expects a good portion of his injured starters to return, but the final list of who suits up remains a question.