Braxton Miller Injury

It appears that the injury suffered by Braxton Miller--actually a re-injury via dislocation to his right shoulder--will end the star Ohio State QB 's 2014 season before the first game. Miller has come to represent the OSU offense and so any absence will require the team, of course, to readjust immediately. He had already been injured and operated on (not for dislocation but related) so this news, while shocking to fans, is not some out-of-the-blue scenario, but for a team with national title aspirations it cannot be considered anything but awful. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett had taken over the backup duties for the Buckeyes and will presumably become the starter, with Cardale Jones back to number two. Fortunately for the Buckeyes the schedule should allow them to prepare Barrett and Jones for the tougher, end of the season slate. Four of the team's first six games are at home with one, the opener, at a neutral field and the other against a young and talented Maryland team that is probably a year or two away from competing with a top ten team. Still, teams like Maryland, Navy, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech will not be that easy. The QBs need to be up to snuff by midseason as OSU plays at Penn State, Michigan State and Minnesota over a four game spread. That will decide whether or not they are a true contender for a Big Ten crown. Hopefully Miller is okay or, at the very least, can recover with enough time to resume playing QB. And hopefully the Buckeyes can recover from the loss of their team's leader and arguably best player. The other potential loser here is the Big Ten who has to have its champion reach the national four-team playoff. This injury makes that reality a great deal tougher.