Buckeyes star left tackle Josh Simmons out for season with knee injury

COLUMBUS — Just days after losing to Oregon in the biggest game of the season so far, Ohio State has been hit with brutal news along the offensive line.

Buckeyes star left tackle and potential high draft pick Josh Simmons will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Ryan Day confirmed the news on his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Simmons went down on the field at Autzen Stadium on Saturday night on the final play of the first quarter in the Buckeyes 32-31 loss to Oregon. He was carted off the field, taken into the locker room and held out for the rest of the game.

Backup left tackle Zen Michalski came into the marquee road game and played 46 snaps, a career high. He finished the game with a 47.6 PFF grade, the lowest grade for any Buckeyes offensive player.

“That’s why you have to build depth,” Day said. “You knew this was going to happen midway through the season. So couple guys, we’ll get back for sure, other guys like Josh and Will, it’ll be a while.”

Will, of course, is referring to tight end Will Kacmarek, who was also injured in the loss to Oregon.

Now the worst fear is official for the Buckeyes. They’ll be without star left tackle Josh Simmons for the remainder of the season.

Buckeyes still among national title favorites

Ohio State suffered a last-second loss to Oregon in Autzen Stadium and then just had a week off to recalibrate and refocus.

The folks in the desert still believe the Buckeyes are the best team in the Big Ten — and still among the favorites to win the national title.

FanDuel Sportsbook has officially updated its national championship odds now that the latest week of college football is wrapped up. And Ohio State has the third-best odds to win the national title despite the loss.

Georgia is the back to the top as the betting favorite. The Bulldogs are +330 to win the national championship after their road win at Texas. They’re followed by Ohio State, which is unchanged from last week (+450). Texas is right behind the Buckeyes at +500. The team which beat Ohio State, Oregon, now has title odds at +500 after the one-point win over the Buckeyes — the biggest regular season win in Ducks program history — and then a win over Purdue.

Penn State sits currently at +1200 odds to win it all. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State on Nov. 2.