COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller has been cleared to play in time for the fourth-ranked Buckeyes' first Big Ten game of the season Saturday against No. 23 Wisconsin.
Miller, a junior, missed the past two games with a knee injury.
"I know Braxton, if he has a good week of practice, will start," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said Monday. "I saw him [Sunday], and I'm much more confident. I mean, he had a very good day yesterday, and we practiced pretty hard.
"I'm saying he's around 90 [percent] right now, and he could be 100 by next week, I'm hoping."
The Buckeyes (4-0) sat Miller for a second consecutive game Saturday, a 76-0 rout of Florida A&M, in an effort to get his sprained left knee closer to full strength, a decision Meyer said was mutual between the coaches, the training staff and Miller.
There is the possibility that Miller, the reigning Big Ten player of the year, has gathered some rust after suffering his injury on the seventh snap of the Buckeyes' second game. That could potentially leave the door open for Kenny Guiton, who has performed admirably in Miller's place, against the Badgers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten). Guiton threw for a school-record 12 touchdowns over the past three weeks.
But if Miller is given the green light, as Meyer appears to be anticipating, there's no question about the pecking order at quarterback.
"I am very comfortable with both quarterbacks, and Braxton, I imagine there might be a little bit of rust, which I was hoping to get out of him last week, so I'm going to practice him real hard this week," Meyer said. "But Braxton is 13-0 as a starter [since the start of last season] and has done very well with his improvements.
"Someone has to come off the field."
