Mike Penix will be a gametime decision against Ohio State, per Tom Allen

If you spent anytime on the Indiana football internet yesterday, chances are you caught wind of some BACKCHANNEL CHATTER amongst those that are in the know. That news is now out.

Mike Penix will be a game-time decision against Ohio State with a yet to be disclosed injury.

Bad!

Here’s what we know so far

The #chatter has been that it’s a shoulder/dead arm/soreness issue for Penix, it’s not expected to be long-term, and chances are that he’ll play through any pain on Saturday.. Still, if there’s anyone that should understand that “not expected to be long-term”, uh, it’s probably anyone following anything about quarterbacking in the state of Indiana.

In the interim, it’ll be Peyton Ramsey stepping in for the Hoosiers if needed. While the possible loss of Penix might dampen some of Indiana’s explosive ability, the upshot is Ramsey was relatively strong in his showing last year against Ohio State, throwing for 322 and three scores in his home state. Plug him into a stronger Kalen DeBoer offense, add another year of experience for those around him, and you can talk yourself into Indiana still being plenty competitive with Ramsey calling the shots Saturday.

A related FUN FACT: Of Indiana’s three closest final scores with Ohio State since 2012, a quarterback that did not start the season on the top of the depth chart has taken the majority of the snaps. (Sudfeld in 2012, Zander in 2014 & 2015).