COLUMBUS – Twenty minutes after Ohio State’s 49-7 win last Saturday night at Rutgers, defensive end Joey Bosa stood on the field talking to reporters with an ice pack on his knee.
A few minutes later, safety Vonn Bell emerged from the locker room with an even bigger bag of ice on his shoulder.
The wear and tear on the bodies of college football players is often overlooked unless they have an injury serious enough to keep them from competing.
No. 1 Ohio State is on a roll lately after playing well in a 38-10 win over Penn State two weeks ago and looking even better against Rutgers.
Regardless of how much momentum might have been generated in those two games, though, an off week this week is being welcomed by OSU’s players, according to Bosa and some of the Buckeyes’ other front-line players.
“I think it’s very needed.,” Bosa said about the chance to take some time off. “ Some guys are starting to get dinged up. It’s going to be a nice week to rest.”
Offensive tackle Taylor Decker called not playing this week “huge.”
“It’s huge because in almost every game the starters have played every snap. There are some guys dinged up, just little things here and there. They just start to add up on you. It will be nice to get a little bit of rest and get a little bit of time away and just take a deep breath and come back locked and loaded and ready to go,” he said.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott said, “It’s good we get a week off to kind of re-gather and reflect on our last game. We’ve got a big stretch ahead.”
OSU’s next four games will be against Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan State and Michigan.
