Throughout the year, we will be asking and answering questions about various Ohio State teams, the players, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that
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Ohio State has two games left in the regular season, but given that the last game is The Game, that essentially means that the postseason starts the second after this Saturday’s game against Rutgers is over. With that in mind, this week’s fan survey asks the question on the minds of most Buckeye fans: what should Ryan Day do with injured players?
Wide receiver Carnell Tate hasn’t played in the last two games, and fellow WR Jeremiah Smith had to argue his way onto the field against UCLA to play a limited number of snaps and was seen limping on the sideline. Backup (and potential starting) right guard Josh Padilla has missed the last two games, and quarterback Julian Sayin looked a little worse for wear before exiting last week’s game against the Bruins.
So, we want to know what course of action you would take if the decision of what to do on Saturday in The Horseshoe were up to you.
Then, in the second question, as it is game week, we want to get your insight into Saturday’s contest, so we want you to pick the winner and the margin of victory.
Check out the questions below, and then make sure to vote in the survey beneath the article. If none of the options included in the survey line up with what you want to pick, feel free to head down to the comments at the bottom of the page and write in your pick. Then, on Saturday morning, check back with LGHL to see the results.
Question 1: How would you handle Ohio State’s injured players against Rutgers?
There has been a lot of online discourse in the past few days over how Ryan Day should handle the injury situations he is presented with heading into the penultimate game of the regular season, especially when it comes to his biggest offensive weapons, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.
Some people believe the head coach should do everything in his power to keep them out of harm’s way before the team’s trip to Ann Arbor, and some people believe that they aren’t really hurt and it is just a strategic smokescreen.
Question 2: What will the margin of victory be in Saturday’s game against Rutgers?
When the FanDuel Sportsbook opened its betting for this game, Ohio State was installed as a 31.5-point favorite, and that is where it sits as of the writing of this article. The gold standard college football analytics system, SP+, has it as a 43-12 game in favor of the Buckeyes, which is almost exactly on the line.
So, while I will make my official pick and prediction on Saturday morning in the “Land-Grant Tailgate Podcast,” right now, I am inclined to go with something like 38-13, just because I think that Ryan Day and company will be extra cautious when it comes to limiting injuries with a trip to Ann Arbor coming next week.
Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
