Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott cited in crash, expected to play in Fiesta Bowl

ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 28: Ezekiel Elliott #15 of the Ohio State Buckeyes leaves the field after a 42-13 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 28, 2015 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

Dec. 28, 2015 8:51 PM PT

Ezekiel Elliott’s last game, a 42-13 victory Nov. 28 against Michigan, likely won’t be his last game in an Ohio State uniform.

The running back is expected to play Friday against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl after he was cited for driving with a suspended license Sunday afternoon after a crash in Columbus, Ohio.

The team arrived in Arizona on Sunday, but neither Elliott nor Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer spoke with the media Monday. Meyer talked briefly Sunday when he arrived. Elliott is scheduled to speak Tuesday.

“He was the at-fault driver,” Columbus Police spokesperson Denise Alex-Bouzounis told the Columbus Dispatch.

According to the Dispatch, the accident occurred close to campus when, police said Elliott told them, he hit a puddle before he collided with another car with two occupants. There were no major injuries reported.

No. 7 Ohio State (11-1) already will be thin with the absence of starting defensive tackle Adolphus Washington. He was suspended for the game because he was arrested for soliciting an undercover police officer for sex. Glenbard West graduate Tommy Schutt also will out because of a broken foot.

Elliott made headlines Nov. 21 for ripping his team’s play calling after a 17-14 loss to Michigan State during which he had just 12 carries for 33 yards. He said after that game it would be his last home game.

Elliott’s 3,812 rushing yards are good for third in Ohio State history, behind Archie Griffin and Eddie George. He has 1,672 of those yards and 19 touchdowns this season.

Brian Kelly said his Irish (10-2) will have their hands full with Elliott and Ohio State’s offense, which he said hasn’t changed much from a year ago when the Buckeyes won the national title.

“There are a lot of similarities,” Kelly said. “There’s not many holes on this football team - offensive line, defense, special teams, Ezekiel Elliott . offensive line, skilled on the perimeter.

”I think this is a football team that is really peaking at the wrong time for us. Again, I think we’re playing the best team in the country.“