Penn State football: Ohio State RB TC Caffey lost for year with injury, per report

The 2024 Big Ten Championship race will undoubtedly be impacted by the outcome of November 2’s matchup between Penn State football and Ohio State. This weekend, the Buckeyes suffered a blow to its running back depth before the start of preseason camp, as walk-on TC Caffey is reportedly expected to miss the entire year due to an injury.

On Friday evening, Dave Biddle of Ohio State’s 247Sports affiliate Bucknuts reported from two sources that Caffery had suffered a knee injury, putting his 2024 season in jeopardy. An Ohio State spokesperson declined to comment on “injury situations” for Biddle’s report.

A third-year sophomore, TC Caffey previously tore his ACL during his true freshman season in 2022, which also caused him to miss all of last season. He has ten rushes for 66 yards and a touchdown in his Buckeye career. As a senior in high school, Caffey ran for 2,638 yards and 37 scores.

How will Caffey’s loss impact the Buckeyes’ matchup with Penn State football?

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It goes without saying that the reported injury to TC Caffey should not hamper the top end of the Ohio State running back rotation, which is led by TreVeyon Henderson and transfer Quinshon Judkins.

However, Biddle highlights in his report that Ohio State has depth concerns at the position, with only four scholarship running backs on the roster. The Buckeyes insider expressed that Ryan Day and his staff had expected Caffey to compete with freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon for time behind Henderson and Judkins.

Depth could be a key factor by the early November contest. The matchup inside Beaver Stadium will be the eighth game of the season for both Penn State football and Ohio State. A double bye year, both teams have their off weeks on the same weekends this season: September 14 and October 19.

The Buckeyes come off games at Oregon (October 12) and against Nebraska (October 26) before and after their second bye, while the Nittany Lions face back-to-back road trips to USC (October 12) and Wisconsin (October 26).

Caffey’s injury may also have a significant impact given the style of play implemented by the Buckeyes under new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. As head coach of UCLA, the Bruins ranked No. 16 in FBS for rushing offense with 197.9 yards per game in 2023.

During last year’s 20-12 loss in Columbus, Penn State football held Ohio State to 79 rushing yards on 41 attempts.

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