Ohio State faces uncertainty with star receivers ahead of final home game vs. Rutgers

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State might head into its final home game of the regular season without a full deck on offense. Coach Ryan Day did not rule out star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate for this weekend when the top-ranked Buckeyes play host to Rutgers, but he also did not want to go into specifics on their availability. The same went for Josh Padilla, a reserve offensive lineman who had been seeing playing time at right guard before he suffered an undisclosed injury and missed the last two games. "Our policy is we don't discuss specifics on injuries, and once you start going down a little bit here, a little bit there, you can create a problem," Day said Tuesday. "So for a number of reasons, we don't discuss those things. We put out the report the day of the game, but I can tell you they're in great spirits. The medical staff is working hard. We'll take it day to day and see how they come in each day, but they're working hard to get back on the field." Tate missed the last two games with an injury that has not been identified. The junior from Chicago is still fifth in the Big Ten with 88.9 receiving yards per game. He was listed as "out" on the pregame availability report Saturday when the Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0) beat UCLA 48-10. Smith was labeled questionable but ended up starting the game and making an acrobatic, one-handed catch along the sideline on the opening drive. The sophomore caught four passes for 40 yards in the first half and did not play in the second after being seen limping late in the first. Day did not disclose what he is dealing with other than to describe it as "something nagging" Saturday. Asked Tuesday if Smith did anything to aggravate it, Day said, "Not that I know of." Smith leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 10 touchdown catches while ranking third in the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (90.2) and second in catches per game (6.9). "Just so you understand, we check in every day, take the advice of the medical staff and use their feedback and go from there," Day said. Brandon Inniss started in place of Tate and led Ohio State with six catches for 30 yards against the Bruins while tight end Max Klare caught five passes for 26 yards. The 5-5 Scarlet Knights are looking to beat Ohio State for the first time in their 11th try since joining the Big Ten in 2014. After that, the Buckeyes will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to renew one of the nation's fiercest rivalries. The 18th-ranked Wolverines (8-2, 6-1) have won the last four games in the series with Ohio State and maintain hopes of making the College Football Playoff and the Big Ten Championship Game. Day, who coached the Buckeyes to a win at Michigan in his first season as head coach in 2019, was not asked about the Wolverines on Tuesday, but he did speak about wanting to avoid dwelling on the past, whether that was in relation to the Buckeyes' struggles with the Wolverines or being the defending national champions. "I just know what we have to continue to focus on right now and that's it," Day said. "There's lessons that can be learned from the past, but at the end of the day, everybody has to be focused on right now. I think it's the job of the coaches to be at our best, the players to be at their best right now and we'll use what's happened in the past as learning lessons, but at the end of the day, the majority of this stuff doesn't have an effect on this team in particular."