Ohio State injury report: Eight players unavailable against Northwestern

CHICAGO (WCMH) -- For the third consecutive week, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be missing a senior offensive lineman.

The second-ranked Buckeyes are in Chicago Saturday to take on Northwestern at Wrigley Field in their final road regular season game of 2024. Eight players are listed to be out for the noon kickoff with senior offensive lineman Zen Michalski remaining on the injury report for a third straight week. Michalski suffered a lower body injury against Nebraska in his first career start at left tackle.

Among the new names on the injury list are senior linebacker Mitchell Melton, who last recorded a tackle against Iowa on Oct. 5, and freshman cornerback Aaron Scott, a Springfield, Ohio-native who recorded his first career NCAA solo tackle last week against Purdue.

Ohio State injury report (Week 12 at Northwestern)

• WR Reis Stocksdale
• TE Will Kacmarek
• OL Zen Michalski
• LB Mitchell Melton
• CB Aaron Scott
• CB Calvin Simpson-Hunt
• OL Josh Simmons (season)
• RB TC Caffey (season)

Ohio State (8-1) is favored to beat the Wildcats by four touchdowns in a historic game for the Scarlet & Gray. The Buckeyes have never played at the home of Chicago Cubs and haven't played a game at a stadium primarily used for an MLB team in over 30 years.

Should the Buckeyes win their 11th consecutive game against Northwestern, they will continue to control their own destiny towards making the Dec. 7 Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis. Ohio State ends its regular season with a two-game homestand against No. 5 Indiana and rivals Michigan.