COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 2 Ohio State will start a new quarterback tonight in one of the toughest road environments in college football. True freshman Luke Fahey is expected to start for the Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) at No. 25 USC (6-2, 3-2) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported Friday, in a report carried by Heavy. Head coach Ryan Day has continued to decline to name a starter publicly.
The change was forced two weeks ago. Starting quarterback Julian Sayin hurt his right, throwing arm during Ohio State’s 19-15 win over defending champion Indiana on Oct. 17 and ended the game in a sling on the sideline, Heavy reported. Day said on Oct. 20 that Sayin is out “indefinitely,” with no timetable for his return, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Fahey was the quarterback who relieved Sayin against Indiana, and that head start carried into the bye week. Zenitz reported, via CBS Sports, that Fahey was the clear favorite in the competition with sophomore Tavien St. Clair to become Ohio State’s new starter. Fahey is a three-star true freshman from California, which makes his first career start a homecoming of sorts — in the stadium of the opposing team.
The Buckeyes had two weeks to prepare. After the Indiana win and the injury, Ohio State took its bye last week while Day declined, at every opportunity, to spill the decision, Heavy reported. The Dispatch described the USC trip as the start of a difficult stretch for a team whose only loss came against Texas in Week 2.
The quarterback question has hung over the program for a fortnight precisely because so much else is settled. Ohio State’s defense and its unbeaten Big Ten record were built with Sayin running the offense; the next month now depends on how quickly a true freshman can run it instead, starting in prime time, on the road, against a ranked opponent playing for its playoff life.
The stakes run in both directions. A USC loss would effectively knock the Trojans out of College Football Playoff contention and deepen the pressure on embattled coach Lincoln Riley, USA Today reported. Ohio State, meanwhile, is unbeaten in Big Ten play, and a win in Los Angeles would keep the Buckeyes in control of their path to the conference championship game with a freshman under center.
History is not on Ohio State’s side in this building. The Buckeyes have not won at the Coliseum since 1946, failing to win each of their past five games there, one of which was a tie, USA Today reported. Ohio State is 10-13-1 all-time against USC and just 2-5-1 at the Coliseum, and Saturday is only the third time the Buckeyes have played the Trojans there since 1964. The teams last met in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, which Ohio State won 24-7.
Ohio State is not the only Columbus team playing a season-shaping game this weekend. On the soccer field, the Columbus Crew can clinch a playoff berth Saturday against D.C. United, and earlier this week the No. 3 Ohio State women beat Michigan 3-1 for a ninth straight win.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: Sayin’s absence and the indefinite timetable are confirmed by Day, via The Columbus Dispatch and Heavy. Fahey’s start is expected, per CBS Sports’ reporting, but Ohio State has not announced it, and Day may not confirm it until the Buckeyes take the field. Whether Sayin returns this season, and how much the offense changes without him, remain open questions.
USC enters off a 24-7 loss at Wisconsin, according to NBC Sports, and oddsmakers still made Ohio State a 6.5-point road favorite, per BetMGM odds published by The Columbus Dispatch. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, with streaming on Peacock, and Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge on the call, Buckeyes Wire reported.
What happens next: the answer at quarterback becomes official at kickoff tonight. A win moves Ohio State to 7-1 and strengthens its playoff position heading into the final month; a loss, with a freshman making his first start on the road, would hand the Buckeyes a second defeat and put their postseason margin for error nearly at zero.
Photo: MikeJiroch, CC BY-SA 3.0