Residual fear about offensive line play off a poor showing in 2023 bubbled to the surface for Buckeye fans following a season-ending injury to Josh Simmons at Oregon, and those worries boiled over as the front five was dismal without its starting left tackle against Nebraska.

Zen Michalski started his first career game in Simmons’ place and – no offense to the man beneath the shoulder pads – imitated a parking cone for three quarters and change before exiting with an injury. His struggles sent shockwaves down the entire offensive line as Ohio State turned in easily its worst rushing performance of the season and allowed quarterback Will Howard to come under frequent pressure.

“We didn’t run the football,” Ryan Day said when asked about the offensive line. “Not even close to what we’re averaging. Under three yards per carry with Quinshon (Judkins) and TreVeyon (Henderson). That’s not getting it done. We’ve got to do better than that.”

With an elite defensive front staring Ohio State down in its pivotal matchup against No. 3 Penn State next week, the Buckeyes are left scrambling for solutions on their offensive line after it was a major reason for the razor-thin margin of OSU’s 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday.

“Yeah, I got to go back and watch the film and figure that all out myself,” Day said. “It seemed like a little bit of both (poor execution and Nebraska playing well), quite honestly. It’s not good enough when we’ve gotta be able to run the football. We didn’t do that today. That’s why we put the defense in bad spots. That’s why we were 1-for-10 on third down.”

Ohio State averaged a meager 2.1 yards per carry against the Huskers, less than half its previous low on the season of 4.3 yards per rush at Oregon two weeks ago. Nebraska collected two sacks and forced Howard off his spots consistently as the Buckeyes’ offense failed to pick up a first down on its first four possessions of the second half.

With just 285 yards of offense total, it’s the first time Ohio State’s been held under 400 this year, let alone 300.

Neither of the Buckeyes’ touted tandem at running back found much footing. Henderson picked up 15 yards on his second run of the day and had nine carries for 10 yards otherwise. Judkins finished with 29 yards on 10 attempts. Both proven ball carriers were breaking tackles and trying to find holes, but the hog mollies did them few favors.

“I would say for our offensive line, it definitely wasn’t our best day up front,” Judkins said. “But I think those guys will get it corrected. Coach (Justin) Frye does great for our offensive line as far as coaching, I think he’ll fix it for next week. But I think everyone could improve.”

The thing about offensive line injuriesis they’re often a cascade. It’s such a codependent position group, more than any other in football, that one major downgrade is enough to make the whole group suffer as everyone loses cohesion and has to provide help to different places. The offensive line’s success is something the entire offense depends on, and so it snowballs.

That’s not to say that Josh Fryar, Tegra Tshabola, Seth McLaughlin and Donovan Jackson don’t share responsibility for the failures of the front five against the Huskers, but it underscores the importance Simmons held on the Buckeyes’ roster.

As mightily as Michalski struggled, there was a thought that Ohio State could consider other options at left tackle as the game progressed, one of which included sliding Donovan Jackson out from left guard as the Buckeyes did after Michalski went down. But Day seemed assured in sticking with the first-time starter through thick and thin.

“Felt like, for his first start, we wanted him to play through it,” Day said. “We didn’t want to just panic and pull him out because it’s your first start. So there’s some things you’re going through. Whether it’s first-time jitters or whatever it might be, you’re pressing. You’re trying to get your feet underneath you. So we wanted him to play through that and see how that went. We’ll see how he is now after the game.”

Michalski exited with a lower-body injury in the fourth quarter. Escorted off the field by trainers, he was later seen on Ohio State’s sideline standing with the aid of crutches. His status is being evaluated, but assuming he can’t play against Penn State, the Buckeyes will have to review whether they want Jackson to start at left tackle next week. Sophomore Luke Montgomery took his spot at left guard after Michalski’s injury, though redshirt freshman Austin Siereveld started the first two games of the year at that position when Jackson was sidelined by injury.

Right guard Tegra Tshabola is another candidate to kick outside while George Fitzpatrick is the next true tackle on Ohio State’s depth chart.

“We’re gonna have to talk about it and figure that out,” Day said. “We knew that if that happened in (the Nebraska) game, (Jackson) was our answer and solution to get out of the game. Now we’re going to have to go back and figure out what’s next.”

For his part, Howard said he felt unaffected by the shuffles on the offensive line, even as it was clear he came under more duress than he’s accustomed to this season. He finished 13-of-16 passing for 221 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, adding a sack-adjusted 24 rushing yards.

“It didn’t affect my decision-making at all,” Howard said. “That’s not something I think about when I’m in the game. I’ve got all the trust in the world in Zen and whoever is out there at left tackle for me. It’s not affecting anything that I’m doing at all. It’s next man up mentality and you’ve got to have full faith in that guy. … Definitely when you lose a tackle with first-round potential, it’s tough. That’s a dude that we’re going to miss, but I think Zen stepped up and he’s got to continue to work and hopefully he’s all right.”

Judkins thought the inexperience of the new pieces played a factor in the offensive line’s issues as well.

“When you have new guys in the rotation, they have to get used to the tempo and how things go up front,” Judkins said. “Especially in-game tempo compared to a walkthrough and everything like that. So having those guys mentally dialed in and getting those reps that they need, I think that’s the biggest part.”

The Buckeyes still won the game thanks to a strong performance from their defense. Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, the offense cobbled together enough blocks to go on an eight-play, 75-yard go-ahead touchdown drive that proved game-winning.

“I kept saying that, ‘Go win.’ Like, ‘How are we going to win the game?’ And we talked about that in the off week,” Day said. “We did that. So that, we can build on. But certainly, if we’re going to go 1-for-10 on third down, if we’re going to run the football the way we did in this game, we’re going to be in a tough spot in terms of putting the defense in the situations they were in.”

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The urgency in Ohio State’s offensive line woes is the opponent on its marquee for next Saturday. The Buckeyes face No. 3 Penn State on the road in a game with massive Big Ten and College Football Playoff implications, and the Nittany Lions possess an elite defensive front. Spearheaded by Abdul Carter, one of the most dynamic edge rushers in the country, Penn State is No. 9 nationally in scoring defense (14.5 points allowed per game), No. 6 in total defense (262.5 yards allowed), No. 11 in run defense (95 yards allowed) and No. 15 in pass defense (167.5 yards allowed). 

Thus, the Buckeyes must find the answer to their offensive line dilemma in the next week if they want to win in Happy Valley and keep all of their goals on the table.