Buckeyes kicker sustains knee injury

Oct 31, 2009 - 9:39 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio(AP) -- Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey was helped off the field with an apparent right knee injury late in the second quarter on Saturday against New Mexico State.

Pettrey came into the game, won 45-0 by the 17th-ranked Buckeyes, as the Big Ten's third-leading scorer. Coach Jim Tressel would not disclose the nature or the severity of the injury, other than to say Pettrey "got banged up pretty good."

The Buckeyes led 21-0 when Pettrey was covering his own kickoff and was blocked while pursuing the play. He lay on the field for a couple minutes before being helped off.

He sat on an observation cart behind the bench for most of the rest of the half, then returned to the sidelines in the second half in a warmup suit, standing without crutches.

Backup kicker Ben Buchanan did not dress for the game due to an illness. Ohio State used another backup, Devin Barclay, in place of Pettrey. He kicked a 29-yard field goal but missed attempts from 47 and 36 yards.

The Buckeyes missed four of their five field-goal attempts in the game. Pettrey missed two 52-yard attempts.