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Ohio State's season and its College Football Playoff ambitions are now in the hands of a backup quarterback. Heisman candidate Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with an injured right throwing arm, leaving the Buckeyes to choose between true freshman Luke Fahey and sophomore Tavien St. Clair to lead the offense.
Fahey, who won the backup job during preseason camp, replaced Sayin in the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 19-15 victory over No. 5 Indiana. However, coach Ryan Day intends to give both quarterbacks repetitions during the team's bye week.
"We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win," Day said Monday. "Going into the last few games, Luke's been ahead of Tavien in terms of what we've seen, but now that we have a bye week, these guys are both going to get a lot of reps, and we're going to start to put together a plan on how we're going to move forward. We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win."
The decision comes with little margin for error. The Buckeyes travel to No. 16 USC on Oct. 31, giving Day less than two weeks to determine which inexperienced quarterback is best equipped to lead a team with big ambitions. Matchups with Oregon, No. 24 Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan loom for an Ohio State team that has already lost once this season to Texas.
Key Analysis
Fahey, a high three-star prospect who ranked as the No. 32 quarterback in the 2025 class, was productive in high school, throwing for 7,021 yards, 68 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions at Mission Viejo in California. He visited Indiana, Stanford, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and Oregon State before committing to Ohio State. The Buckeyes must now weigh Fahey's preseason edge against St. Clair's potential as they prepare for a challenging stretch that will define their playoff hopes.
Originally reported by players_bio.