Ohio State football: Buckeyes without 2 starters for opener vs. Minnesota

Ohio State football opens its season on Thursday night against Minnesota but will do so without a pair of starters and without some key reserves.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will be without two starters and one of their best defensive linemen when Ryan Day’s team takes on P.J. Fleck’s Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday night.

Ohio State will be without starting center Harry Miller, starting cornerback Cameron Brown and defensive tackle Jerron Cage.

The trio was on the list of players unavailable for the season opener. Ohio State did not specify why they are not active for the first game of their season.

Ohio State down 2 starters vs. Minnesota

With Miller out of the lineup, second-year player Luke Wypler gets the start at center. He was pushing Miller for the job all offseason so if he has a standout game, he could keep the job and Miller may look to get reps at left guard where he made five starts last year or elsewhere. The former five-star recruit likely works his way back somewhere.

Brown was the starting nickel last year before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury vs. Penn State. Cornerback is a position of concern, which is uncommon for the Buckeyes, but outside of Sevyn Banks, there is a lot of unknown. With Brown out, expect to see Demario McCall, Ryan Watts, Lejond Cavazos and Denzel Burke seeing extended action.

Not having Cage in the middle of the defensive line is where Minnesota will try to attack the Ohio State defense. Mohamed Ibrahim is the Big Ten’s leading returning rusher and the Gophers have a talented offensive line that will look to control the clock and pace of the game.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.