COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State will be without four Buckeyes for its matchup with Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoffs on Saturday.
Three of the four players have previously been ruled out for the season during the course of the year.
The full unavailable list can be seen below:
- RB TC Caffey (Season)
- QB Mason Maggs
- C Seth McLaughlin (Season)
- OT Josh Simmons (Season)
McLaughlin tore his Achilles tendon in practice earlier this year and Simmons suffered a knee injury.
Ohio State vs. Tennessee at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio is scheduled to kickoff at 8:10 p.m.
The Ohio State-Tennessee game can be watched on ABC/ESPN. Chris Fowler will be doing the play-by-play with Kirk Herbstreit serving as an analyst. Holly Rowe will be reporting on the sidelines.
The game can be heard on the radio in the Columbus area on 97.1 The Fan and throughout the statewide Ohio State Sports Network. Paul Keels, Jim Lachey and Clay Hall will describe the action with Skip Mosic producing and hosting.
Following the game, you can watch Ryan Day, assistant coaches and Ohio State players’ postgame interviews on 10TV+ or via the 10TV News mobile app.
BetMGM College Football Odds: Ohio State is favored by 7 over Tennessee.
Ohio State offensive line vs. Tennessee defensive front. The Buckeyes’ O-line has been reshuffled several times due to injuries, perhaps most significantly to center Seth McLaughlin. The weaknesses showed when Ohio State repeatedly failed to run the ball against Michigan. Tennessee has one of the premier defensive lines in the country, featuring defensive end James Pearce Jr., a potential first-round NFL draft pick.
Tennessee: QB Nico Iamaleava opened 2024 leading the Vols to a rout of Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. Now the redshirt freshman will play the biggest game yet, and Iamaleava is coming off one of his best performances of the season. Four of his 11 victories have come against teams ranked at the time of kickoff. He threw for 2,512 yards with 19 touchdown passes with only five interceptions.
Ohio State: Buckeyes QB Will Howard will try to get the ball out to freshman WR Jeremiah Smith, who has been tremendous this season. He’s compiled 934 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns but wasn’t a factor in the 13-10 loss to Michigan.
- Tennessee beat Ohio State 20-14 in the 1996 Citrus Bowl the only time these programs have played previously.
- This will be the first game Tennessee has ever played in the state of Ohio.
- This will be the first game played in Ohio Stadium in December in the venue’s 102-year history.
- Vols coach Josh Heupel is 30-8 since the start of the 2022 season. Those 30 wins are the most since Tennessee won 30 games between the 1998 and the 2000 seasons.
- Tennessee is fourth nationally giving up 13.9 points and 278.3 total yards per game. The Vols ranked eighth in rushing defense (99.6 yards per game). The Vols allowed 18 offensive touchdowns this season, third-fewest in the FBS.
- They gave up three plays of 40 yards or longer all season, tied for the second-fewest trailing only the two such plays allowed by Ohio State.
- Howard is one of the most efficient passers in school history. The Kansas State transfer completed 80% of his passes six times this season. For the season, his completion percentage is 72.3%, ranking him fourth nationally.
- Only two players who started on the Ohio State offensive line in the season opener remain in the lineup because of injuries.
- Ohio State is No. 1 in the country in total defense, allowing 241.1 yards per game. The Buckeyes are second to Texas in pass defense and seventh in run defense.
- ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast in Columbus prior to the game, the 63rd time the show has originated from the Ohio State campus.
