The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes picked up an impressive non-conference win over No. 15 TCU on Saturday night, but they may have suffered a big loss in the process.
Junior defensive end Nick Bosa limped off the field in the third quarter and did not return to the game.
Bosa went back to the locker room and came back out a short time later in sweatpants.
The TV broadcast described it as a “lower abdomen strain.”
So what, exactly, did Bosa hurt? And how long is the Buckeyes’ star going to be out?
After the game, acting head coach Ryan Day said he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t. They’re evaluating what’s going on now,” Day said.
The fact that Bosa was out of uniform at the end of the game has to be a concerning sign for the Buckeyes.
This was a close game against a ranked opponent, one that the Buckeyes couldn’t afford to lose. If the injury was severe enough to sideline him Saturday, there’s a decent chance Bosa could miss additional games.
That won’t make much difference against Tulane at home next Saturday, but losing Bosa would be a big blow to the Buckeyes’ chances on the road at Penn State on September 29.
Junior defensive end Jonathon Cooper and sophomore Chase Young would be tasked with filling in for Bosa.
Cooper had a sack that short-circuited a second quarter drive for the Horned Frogs, and finished the night with four tackles. Young had a quiet night, but has flashed elite potential in the past.
If you’re looking for a reason to feel encouraged for the Buckeyes, the defense played some of its best football of the night in the moments after they lost their star.
“It was a little bit of a wake-up call because we lost our best guy. So we had to go out there and play,” said senior defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones. “I mean, there’s no one to rely on. We got to rely on
ourselves. We got to rely on each other. I think tonight, after a hard first half, we did.”
Now the big question is how much longer they’ll have to do that without Nick Bosa.
Contrary to the headline as you as you said the D actually did quite well since his injury and failed, “Holding non call.” We’ll have to wait and see. However, it’s NOT the DL that needs to play better, without our DL was may have easily lost that game!
Yeah, I thought the DL was fine after Bosa left, but the linebackers. . . Jeez. The LB are the Achilles heel.
EXACTLY right Kurt. Hopefully Urban was at home and has paying attention. The linebacker positions are abysmal and could easily cost the 2018 Buckeyes a National Title. Every week we hold out hope that it will change. Instead it’s off the rails painful to watch some of the best talent in America. Nick Bosa’s injury is certainly a hard blow but Larry Johnson is very good at developing his players and they don’t have to rush Nick back from rehab.
It’s crystal clear that Bill Davis can’t coach college football players. Yep, there is some concern about the DB’s, but quite frankly even their issues are a product of having to cheat up to try and help bail out the linebackers. Urban should fire Davis immediately. I hear James Laurinaitis is doing a gig on television. Bobby Carpenter is available. Josh Perry is available. Hell, hire my sister and it’s an instant upgrade.
Agreed
Tom- Glad you added the qualifier “of the night” near the end of the article, after the statement “the defense payed some of its best football…” If their performance was a Chemistry exam rather than a football game, there would be red writing all over it for sure. Which coach will be the first to say there is “room for improvement” defensively? It’s okay to be worried, folks, doesn’t mean you somehow don’t love the team…
“It’s okay to be worried, folks, doesn’t mean you somehow don’t love the team…”
I agree, BUT, according to the scarlet color glasses crowd an easily seen bad situation by anyone with eyes, is reason to paint a scarlet letter on someones shirt, because we somehow hate the team by not falling into line with group think rosey picture garbage.
Linebackers are broke and as long as Bill Davis is at Ohio State it’s not going to get fixed. The parts are there, but there’s no one there capable of fixing it.