Penn State starting safety Tony Davis missed Saturday's game against Ohio State and will miss two to four weeks after he had his appendix removed Friday night, Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson said.

Mark Rubin started in place of Davis as the Nittany Lions fell to No. 1 Ohio State. Davis missed time earlier in the year with a shoulder injury, so Rubin has seen significant playing time. Rubin had five tackles.

Davis, a redshirt junior, is the third significant contributor the Lions defense has lost this season. Defensive tackle Jared Odrick is out with a broken right ankle, and Jerome Hayes tore his right anterior cruciate ligament.

"It's a tough loss, because Tony's a great playmaker," safety Anthony Scirrotto said. "Rubin does a great job when he's put in a tough situation, and he can play the game, too. [The coaches] obviously felt good putting him in there because he got the job done."

Before Saturday's game against Ohio State, Rubin played 20 to 25 snaps a game, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. Rubin, also a redshirt junior, has played in every game this season and had 16 tackles with no interceptions.

Rubin came to Penn State in 2004 and caught 16 balls his freshman year when he was a wideout. Largely because of injuries, he played sparingly since then as a wideout and switched to the secondary in the off-season.

Davis missed time earlier this year with a shoulder injury sustained against Buffalo. For Davis, this was also a transition year; he moved from cornerback to safety. Through the season's first eight games, he intercepted one pass and had 24 tackles.