The marquee matchups set for week one of the college football season led to a number of key victories and losses that will have shaken up the outlook of the top-25. Ohio State came out on the right side of a lopsided victory but it wasn’t all good news for Buckeyes fans after they lost one of their most important players on the defensive side of the football. Here is a look at the four biggest injuries from week one of the college football season.
DT: Tracy Sprinkle, Ohio State
Ohio State absolutely dominated in a 77-10 win over Bowling Green but their defense suffered a significant loss if Sprinkle is out for any amount of time. The Buckeyes’ junior defensive tackle and team captain Sprinkle exited in the first quarter with a right leg injury and head coach Urban Meyer said afterward that the issue was his right patellar tendon, which will require season-ending surgery. Sprinkle played in all 13 games for Sprinkle a year ago and was one of the key players on a defense that is loaded with talent but short on experience overall. Ohio State also lost its linebacker Dante Booker to a sprained knee, but were fortunate in that it doesn’t appear to be nearly as serious as the injury that Sprinkle suffered.
The good news is that the Buckeyes defense looked great in their opening game against a MAC team that has a history of lighting up the scoreboard. Of course, the Buckeyes would much rather have their entire team intact, but it looks like they have ample depth on defense. Hopefully, at the very least, Booker can come back sooner than later and help soften some of the blow.
WR: Tori Hunter Jr., Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish suffered a tough loss at Texas on Sunday night and it added injury to insult when Torii Hunter Jr. went down following a brutal shot to the head in the endzone that didn’t even draw a penalty call. Hunter came down with a pass from quarterback DeShon Kizer when he was rocked by Longhorns’ safety DeShon Elliott in the endzone and while he was able to walk of the field under his own power he was clearly roughed up. The son of former MLB center fielder Torii Hunter appeared to suffer a concussion on the play and it would be a significant blow to Notre Dame if he was out for any period of time.
Notre Dame – like many other ranked teams – go their season off on the wrong foot. While the Texas Longhorns might be a team on the rise, few people expected them to spring this surprise. Notre Dame was supposed to be a cut above. But clearly that’s not the case and now without Hunter Jr. (and remember that star wide receiver Will Fuller graduated for the NFL last year), the team and family will have to make some adjustments.
QB: Tago Smith, Navy
The Midshipmen pulled out a 52-16 victory over Fordham but lost their starting quarterback in the process after Smith suffered a knee injury on a 22-yard run early in the second quarter. Smith had run for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries before going down. There has been no word on Smith’s status going forward but Will Worth, who is a senior, played the remainder of the second and third quarters and would be in line to start for Navy moving forward if Smith can’t go.
RB: Russell Shell, West Virginia
West Virginia escaped a battle against Missouri with a 26-11 win but lost its starting running back Shell to an undisclosed leg injury in the third quarter. The Mountaineers were fortunate to have junior college transfer Justin Crawford in the lineup as he relieved Shell and rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. West Virginia hasn’t released word on Shell’s status for week two but if he remains sidelined they will have to turn to Crawford to carry the load again at home against Youngstown State. The Mountaineers are trying to prove that they are competitive and losing Shell won’t help their case.
