Phillip Daniels returns for Ohio State at Indiana

Ohio State has been piecing its offensive line together for a month. This week, help finally showed up.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Ohio State will have a starting OL back at Indiana. t.co/LYJIS3cMXR

Spencer Holbrook@SpencerHolbrook

Ohio State starting RT Phillip Daniels is expected to return Saturday against No. 5 Indiana after missing a month with an injury 👀 Buckeyes will be closer to full strength for their biggest test yet... MORE DETAILS: t.co/dy1a7AP9Pi t.co/QAsxeL9Vsj

Ryan Day confirmed it at his weekly press conference: Daniels is back, he's getting a full day of practice, and he should be starting again at right tackle. He has been out since he got hurt against Texas, the game the Buckeyes lost and the one hanging over their playoff case ever since. That's 4 games in a row without their starting right tackle.

The patchwork held up, mostly. With Daniels out, Gabe VanSickle has been the main starter at right guard, then slid out to right tackle against Maryland and played well enough. Getting Daniels back lets VanSickle return to the spot he actually knows, so 2 positions get fixed by 1 return. That counts for a lot heading into a road game against a front 7 built to make quarterbacks miserable.

It isn't a full bill of health, though. Starting left guard Austin Siereveld was ruled out right before the Maryland game, and Day gave no update on him this week. So Ohio State goes to Bloomington with 1 question mark on the line instead of 2. That's better, but it's still not the 5 starters they planned on in August.

Why it matters: a 2nd loss could put Ohio State's playoff hopes in real danger, and Indiana is not the Indiana of old. The Hoosiers will come after the Buckeyes from the first snap. Reports out of Columbus expect Arthur Smith to lean on quick-hitting throws early to take some heat off the line, and to keep running the ball after Bo Jackson went over 100 yards last week. Both of those work a lot better with a healthy right tackle.

What to watch Saturday: whether Daniels looks like himself after a month on the shelf, how the right side holds up against Indiana's rush, and whether Siereveld makes it. If Ohio State can keep its quarterback clean, this is a different game. If not, the month without Daniels is going to get a lot of the blame.