Emeka Egbuka ruled out for Buckeyes in road matchup at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — What was expected all week is now official: Ohio State will be without star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on Saturday afternoon at Purdue.
The full availability report won’t be made public Saturday morning before kickoff (Noon on Peacock streaming service), but Buckeyes coach Ryan Day confirmed the news that Egbuka won’t suit up for the Buckeyes to Lettermen Row’s Tim May on Friday night.
While the absence of Egbuka was expected, it’s still a blow for the Buckeyes offense that is trying to get back on track ahead of a massive showdown against Penn State next week. But they have to get through the road trip to Purdue unscathed first, and there are options to take over in Egbuka’s place on Saturday afternoon.
The likely next man up is senior captain Xavier Johnson, a do-it-all weapon for the Buckeyes offense.
“Xavier can do it all,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline said. “You can see him in the last game last year. The first game and last game. Whether he’s playing in the slot or playing outside, whether he’s in the backfield with the quarterback, he’s very capable of doing all of that. It provides that ability to switch. We’ve done a little bit of that this year, and we’ll continue to build on it. X is excellent at anything he does.
“I look forward to the situation where if [Emeka] would be down, the opportunity that [Xavier] would have.”
Johnson will have that chance against Purdue, especially now that star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has officially been ruled out for Ohio State.
The full availability report from the program will be released Saturday morning.
Ohio State vs. Purdue: Game time, details
From Lettermen Row’s Andy Backstrom:
Ohio State leads the all-time series, 40-15-2. The teams have played just twice in the last decade, starting with an iconic upset in a sold-out Ross-Ade Stadium in 2018. Purdue thumped the then-No. 2 Buckeyes, 49-20, effectively knocking Ohio State out of College Football Playoff contention. The Boilermakers were playing for Tyler Trent, a 20-year-old Purdue student and Boilermakers Superfan who was dealing with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Trent passed in 2019, but his memory — and his team’s remarkable 29-point win over Ohio State — is an integral part of Purdue history.
Ohio State hosted Purdue back in 2021, and the Buckeyes came away with a 59-31 win. That time, it was a top-20 matchup between the Big Ten crossover opponents. The stars of the show in 2018 were Purdue quarterback David Blough, wide receiver Rondale Moore and running back D.J. Knox. In 2021, however, Buckeyes playmakers stole the spotlight, namely quarterback C.J. Stroud, wideout Garrett Wilson and the running back duo of Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson.
- Time: 12 p.m. E.T.
- TV Channel: N/A (only streaming on NBC’s Peacock)
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
- Location: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Weather: 59º, 58% chance of rain during the afternoon, winds 14 mph
- The line: Ohio State is a 19.5-point favorite, per FanDuel.
- Over/under: 52.5 points
