ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is sticking to the old rule that a player doesn't lose his starting job because of injury.

Fitzgerald said today that senior quarterback C.J. Bacher will start Saturday against No. 11 Ohio State (ESPN2, noon ET) if his injured right hamstring sufficiently improves. Backup Mike Kafka also will be part of the game plan after leading No. 24 Northwestern to an upset of Minnesota, but Bacher likely will get the first shot.

Bacher was available against Minnesota but not healthy enough to start, Fitzgerald said. Expect him back this week.

Kafka ran for 217 yards against Minnesota, a Big Ten record for a quarterback. A repeat performance against Ohio State's formidable defense is unrealistic, but Northwestern should keep Kafka in the mix, especially with Bacher's struggles this season (10 TDs, 11 INTs). The junior deserves at least a series or two, and his running ability could help in the red zone.

Injuries continue to hurt Northwestern, which has lost promising defensive end Vince Browne for at least the rest of the regular season with a knee injury. Browne, who has four sacks this year, will undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament this week. Marshall Thomas likely will get more playing time behind starter Kevin Mims, who comes off his best game of the season.