Top-ranked Ohio State’s offensive line dealing with injuries, inconsistency

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Top-ranked Ohio State is still sorting out its offensive line heading into the final quarter of the regular season.

Coach Ryan Day said Tuesday he hopes the unit will be back at full strength after starting right tackle Phillip Daniels and top reserve Josh Padilla missed the Buckeyes’ win at Purdue on Saturday with unspecified injuries.

“We’ll kind of see as the week goes on, but we’re expecting a full week of work out of those guys,” Day said. The undefeated Buckeyes host UCLA (3-6) on Saturday night.

Sophomore Ian Moore started in place of Daniels, and Day paid him what amounts to a compliment for an offensive lineman.

“It was good to see Ian Moore in his first start play well,” Day said. “I mean, when you don’t notice somebody, that’s a good sign at tackle, and we didn’t really notice Ian too much.”

Padilla had been splitting time the past few games at right guard with Tegra Tshabola, a junior in his second full season as a starter who has been inconsistent most of the season.

After Day said Tshabola had one of his better games two weeks ago against Penn State, the coach acknowledged he took a step back at Purdue.

That means snaps are up for grabs as the Buckeyes prepare for their last three games of the season.

Ethan Onianwa, a senior who transferred from Rice but lost the battle for right tackle to Daniels in August. Onianwa is in the mix at right guard along with Padilla if he is healthy.

“We’ll see how Ethan does today, but that’s kind of where feel like we are right now. And we feel like splitting the reps can help them – all those guys – become more efficient.

“But we’re going to keep evaluating, keep pushing on it and see where we go. And a big part of it is how healthy Josh is.”

After hosting UCLA, the Buckeyes will play their final home game of the regular season against Rutgers then go to Michigan for the traditional regular season finale.

The Bruins are 122nd in the nation in run defense (191.1 yards per game allowed) and last in the nation (134th) in both sacks (0.67 per game) and tackles for loss (3.1 per game), so they might not represent much of a threat.

Rutgers is 126th against the run (196.5 yards), 127th in sacks (1.0) and 95th in tackles for loss (3.9), but the Wolverines are a different animal.

The Buckeyes’ rival is expected to present a much greater challenge as they currently rank 12th in the nation in run defense (100.2 yards), 18th in sacks (2.67) and 23rd in tackles for loss (6.7).

“I’m encouraged with a lot of things that are going on up there, and if I thought it was a real problem or a mess, I would address it,” Day said. “I know that we’re going to get a lot more challenges here, and we’re challenging these guys every day.”

Pass protection has been strong all season for the Buckeyes, but the running game has been at best a work in progress.

While they are fourth in the country both in sacks allowed (0.56) and tackles for loss allowed (3.11), the rushing offense ranks 69th (155.1 yards per game).

That is after they went for 170 yards on the ground at Purdue, their best total this season against a team from a Power Four conference.

“The backs need to continue to run better, and we need to continue to figure out ways to put them in a situation to be successful,” Day said.

“I think they’re grinding on it. They’re working hard.”