We knew Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor had some sort of injury late in the season.

What we didn’t know was that it was a partially-torn PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in one of his knees (Pryor didn’t reveal which one).

He told reporters in November that he was dealing with “a banged-up ankle” but never mentioned the knee injury.

Heading into the matchup against No. 7 Oregon (10-2) in the Rose Bowl on Friday (5:20 p.m., Eastern; ABC) now the question is how much will the injury affect Pryor.

The No. 8 Buckeyes (10-2) were able to primarily use tailbacks Brandon Saine and Boom Herron to move the ball down the stretch of the regular season. And considering OSU emerged with the outright Big Ten championship, there’s no question the plan worked. Pryor wasn’t used much as a runner or passer in wins over Penn State, Iowa and Michigan. Ohio State piled up over 200 rushing yards in each of those contests (and the two previous games as well) and Pryor wasn’t needed to do much.

However, in the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes most-certainly need Pryor to be able to run the ball and make big plays in general against the Ducks (and "big" can be picking up 6 yards on a scramble on third-and-5). Oregon’s defensive game plan is probably going to be to sell out against the run with at least eight players in the box. Therefore, Pryor will have a few opportunities to hit deep balls and he needs to connect on one or two in order for the Buckeyes to win. He also needs to do damage in the running game. He’s a 6-foot-6, 235-pound quarterback that runs a legit 4.3 in the 40 when he’s healthy. He is most dangerous when he’s on the run and OSU needs to have that element in its offense on Friday.

We’re not sure why Pryor chose to reveal exactly what his injury is now after weeks of keeping everyone in the dark (the knee injury apparently happened on Oct. 31 against New Mexico State).

However, the good news for OSU is that he thinks the time off since the Michigan game on Nov. 21 has given his knee a chance to get better.

“It’s improved a little bit, but sometimes I have trouble making cuts,” Pryor said. “It’s not really a big deal. It’s just a little sore. It’s fine. When I’m in the game or at practice, I don’t really worry about it to tell you the truth.”

But does OSU head coach Jim Tressel have enough confidence in Pryor’s health to really cut him loose in the Rose Bowl? I think the Buckeyes will likely come out trying to run the ball with Saine and Herron. But they will need Pryor to make big plays to win this game and his health must be somewhat of a concern for the coaching staff.