AMHERST, N.Y. – Ohio’s injury-plagued defensive line will face a test right away when it faces a Buffalo offense that features 100-yard-per game rusher Branden Oliver.

Oliver has exactly 500 yards in his first five games and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The Bulls also offer a running threat from quarterback Chazz Anderson, who has 200 yards on the ground. The two have combined for eight touchdowns rushing.

“I know that they’re a very physical football team, that’ll work hard at moving the ball on us,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “Certainly, they do a good job on the ground.”

Starting nose tackle Neal Huynh is expected to miss about four weeks with a knee injury suffered last week against Kent State. Backup Jeff King recently had a setback from a knee injury during the summer, leaving an already inexperienced defensive line thin.

Ohio (4-1, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) graduated all four of its starting defensive linemen from 2010, transfer Kyle Kozak was dismissed during the summer and prep school recruit Brad Spivey never made it to campus.

True freshman defensive end Tony Davis already had seen some action this season and is likely to get more this week, Solich said. Defensive tackles Antwan Crutcher and Brandon Purdum, both recovering from an illness, are expected to give up their redshirts to provide depth in the middle of the defensive line.

“We’re still going to be put a very good defense on the field,” Solich said. “The one thing that we’ve felt good about is that we had depth going into the season, and obviously, we’ve recruited very well.”

At 5-8 and 200 pounds, Oliver eclipsed 100 yards in each of his first three games but has been held in check more so in the last two weeks against Connecticut and Tennessee. He ran the ball 35 times against Pittsburgh and had a career-high 126 yards against Stony Brook.

It was Anderson, a transfer from Cincinnati who made the biggest difference in the rushing game last week against the Volunteers, rushing for 79 yards and a touchdown.

“They’re a team that will line up in two-back sets as well as one-back sets, and they’re a team that likes to run the ball at you,” Solich said. “They’re big across the board. If you look at their offensive line, they’re one of the biggest offensive lines that we’ll face. Their running backs are all big running backs. Their fullback is a big fullback. Their quarterback is a big quarterback. Their receivers are all 200 pounds. There isn’t much left. They are a big football team and an aggressive football team, so obviously they’ve got a lot of potential in playing physical football to get a ground game going.”

The Bulls (1-4, 0-1 MAC) have had some struggles in the passing game, but certainly some of that can be attributed to a tough schedule to this point. Anderson, whom Ohio recruited when he was in high school, has completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 881 yards and three touchdowns.

Most of his completions have been to two wide receivers. Marcus Rivers has 27 receptions for 285 yards, and Alex Nuetz has made 24 catches for 312 yards.

“We need to get our offense rolling along,” Buffalo coach Jeff Quinn said. “I think at this point that we haven’t taken advantage of our playmaking ability, and we need to do more in regards to getting our playmakers making those key plays in critical situations, and Chazz understands that, and we’re going to try to get those plays called and get our kids in the right position to compete.”

The Bulls have averaged just 17.8 points and 336.2 yards per game. The Bobcats are allowing an average of just 16.2 points and 287.6 yards per game and stood tough despite numerous injuries against Kent State last week.

Middle linebacker Noah Keller seems to be nearly at full strength and has 28 tackles to lead the team. Safety Gerald Moore has made 26 tackles, and defensive end Tremayne Scott has 25, including a team-best four for loss with two sacks.

Ohio ranks near the top of the MAC offensively with averages of 440.4 yards and 32.2 points per game.

Quarterback Tyler Tettleton leads the way with 1,200 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with only one interception. LeVon Brazill has been his top target with 24 catches for 294 yards and five touchdowns.

Running back Dante Harden is probable to return to action this week after missing the last two and a half games. In the first two and a half games, he tallied 217 rushing yards and an average of 6.0 yards per carry. Ryan Boykin has 314 yards and one touchdown on the year.

“They’re putting up points,” Quinn said. “That’s the thing that you’re looking for. That’s what we’re trying to establish here – an offense that can move the chains, be explosive, put points on the board. He’s got a core group of running backs and wide receivers, and defensively, they’re keeping offensives out of the end zone. They’re one of the top scoring defenses, so it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”

Defensively, Buffalo has given up 388.4 yards per game, but only 25.6 points per game.

The Bulls tout linebacker Khalil Mack as an All-American candidate. He has made 9.5 tackles for loss to rank third in the nation and has 35 tackles and three sacks.

Fred Branch is Buffalo’s leading tackler with 40.

The Bulls, though, have caused only one turnover this season, but on offense, they have given up the ball only four times. The Bobcats have forced a lot of turnovers – 15 of them, including 11 interceptions – but they have lost 11 fumbles.

Solich said he does not expect Ohio’s injuries to play a major factor in the game.

“Our guys expect to play really good football, they expect to be physical, and so it really doesn’t come down to who your starting 11 is week after week after week,” he said. “I think we have confidence in our backup players and so as long as we don’t get wiped clean at a spot, we think we’ll be able to put a good football team on the field.”

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at UB Stadium in Amherst.