In what might have been both of their final games as Buckeyes, Trey Sermon and Wyatt Davis were both unable to play past halftime.
Sermon was injured on the very first possession of the game, staying on the field for just two plays before suffering a shoulder injury that forced him to go to the hospital for treatment. After a pair of spectacular performances in the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern and the Sugar Bowl against Clemson in which he had 589 total yards from scrimmage, Sermon had just one carry for two yards against Alabama.
His absence was clearly felt by the Buckeyes, who ran for a season-low 147 yards, though they said that didn’t change the plays they called on offense.