If No. 7 Ohio State is to mount a comeback against Purdue and protect its unbeaten season, they very well could have to do it without the unquestioned leader of its offense.
At the tail end of a 37-yard run very late in the third quarter, Braxton Miller suffered an injury on the tackle. The starting quarterback was tended to by OSU medical personnel for several minutes before being taken via cart back into the locker room for further evaluation.
The exact nature of the injury was not revealed, although it appeared most of the work was being done in the shoulder/head area. It appears highly unlikely Miller will be able to return to a game that, at the time of this posting, sees Purdue up 22-14 on the Buckeyes in Columbus with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth.
Miller was replaced by Kenny Guiton, who has thrown all of 12 passes the past two seasons, including 10 this year.
For all intents and purposes, Miller has been the Buckeyes’ offense this season. The quarterback who’s entered the Heisman discussion in recent weeks has scored 21 -- 11 passing, 10 rushing -- of the Buckeyes’ 37 offensive touchdowns this season. He also leads OSU in rushing with 959 yards.
UPDATED 3:03 p.m. ET: Miller is being taken via ambulance to the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for further evaluation of what’s still an unknown injury.
UPDATED 3:51 p.m. ET: A touchdown pass by Guiton and two-point conversion tied the game, and the Buckeyes claimed a 29-22 decision in the first overtime on the strength of Carlos Hyde‘s one-yard touchdown run.