Ohio State Buckeyes’ Run Game in Bad Injury State Ahead of Penn State Nittany Lions Tilt

Down three running backs, where do the Ohio State Buckeyes go from here?

Led by sophomore running back Dallan Hayden, the Ohio State Buckeyes had a big game on the ground in Saturday's 41-7 win over the Purdue Boilermakers, putting up their second-most rushing yards in a game (163) this season. But at what cost?

Returning home to face Penn State on Oct. 21, Ohio State could potentially be without its top three backs in junior TreVeyon Henderson and seniors Miyan Williams and Chip Trayanum. The passing game looked the best it has this season against Purdue but will no doubt need junior receiver Emeka Egbuka back against the Nittany Lions in matchup of College Football Playoff contenders.

Hayden and senior receiver Xavier Johnson did a great job assuming duties in the backfield against Purdue, but the Boilermakers have a bottom-four rush defense in the Big Ten — allowing 158.3 yards per game — and Ohio State still only put up 163 yards in a weather-filled blowout that was the ideal scenario for a successful running game.

This won't be enough against a Penn State team that has the No. 1 rush defense in the conference and No. 6 nationally, allowing only 74.2 yards on the ground. The Buckeyes need to figure out offensive line and backfield issues, especially if they are lacking in depth next week.

They could be relying on Hayden, Johnson and junior back Evan Pryor — who now have a total of 27 combined carries this season — to take on the No. 1 overall defense in the country.

Even if the whole room is available, the Buckeyes are only putting up 131.6 rush yards per game, good for ninth in the conference. Ohio State needs to pray at least one of its top backs is healthy to even pose a threat to this stout Nittany Lion defensive line Saturday.