Ohio State Turns to True Freshman Luke Fahey at USC With Julian Sayin Sidelined

Ohio State opened the season with about as stable a quarterback situation as college football had to offer: a returning Heisman Trophy finalist, the best receiver in the country catching his passes, and no real reason to think about the depth chart. Two weeks of injury news later, the Buckeyes are about to hand the offense to a true freshman who has thrown 13 college passes.

No. 2 Ohio State is expected to start Luke Fahey at quarterback Saturday night against USC, according to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. Fahey would replace Julian Sayin, who hurt his right throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes' 19-15 win at Indiana on Oct. 17 and is not expected back this regular season. Kickoff in Los Angeles is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Ryan Day has not made it official, and he made a point of not doing so. Asked Wednesday whether he would name a starter, Day kept it to four words: "I'm not going to." He added that "both guys had a good week of practice and I think both will be ready to play," and earlier in the week he called it "definitely possible" that Fahey and Tavien St. Clair both see the field in Los Angeles.

How Ohio State got here

One snap changed the Buckeyes' season. With 8:05 left at Memorial Stadium, Indiana's Mario Landino sacked Sayin, knocked the ball loose and landed on his right shoulder, with the arm pinned awkwardly against his body. Sayin came back for the final minutes with that arm in a sling. Day's first estimate after the game was "several weeks." Three days later, the outlook got a lot darker.

"Based on the nature of the injury, we are putting together a plan for him not being available for the regular season," Day said on Oct. 20, adding that the plan covers the postseason as well.

That is a massive hole. Sayin was completing 71.2 percent of his passes for 1,772 yards, 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions. His final big moment before the hit was a 38-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Smith on fourth-and-1 that put Ohio State up 19-7. The Buckeyes needed every inch of that cushion, surviving only after an Indiana fourth-down catch by Nick Marsh in the end zone was ruled out of bounds with just over a minute to play.

Who is Luke Fahey?

Fahey is listed at 5-foot-11 and 206 pounds, which is not the prototype anyone sketches for an Ohio State quarterback. He came to Columbus from Mission Viejo High School in Southern California, signed as a three-star prospect, and then beat out St. Clair, a former five-star recruit from Bellefontaine, Ohio, for the backup job in preseason camp. Every time Sayin left a game this fall, Fahey was the first quarterback off the bench.

The sample is small but loud. Fahey is 9-of-13 for 203 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, most of it in mop-up work against Ball State and Kent State. That is 15.6 yards per attempt. It will not hold up over four quarters against a Big Ten defense, but it does tell you he is not shy about pushing the ball downfield. The two picks tell you the rest.

His first meaningful snaps came in the worst spot imaginable. Thrown in at Indiana facing second-and-28, Fahey scrambled for 8 yards and drew a late-hit penalty. He also missed on both of his throws, and Ohio State did not pick up another first down the rest of the way. Day still liked what he saw. "He's got confidence, he's got athletic ability, he's a competitive kid," Day said that day. "I don't think the moment was too big for him." He also admitted the game "was just moving fast" for the freshman, and that a few more drives would have helped him settle in.

The locker room has been just as direct. "We wouldn't have Fahey out there if we didn't have full trust in him," senior guard Luke Montgomery said after the win. Smith kept it shorter. "Next man up," he said.

The matchup in Los Angeles

Fahey could not have drawn a louder debut. It is a night game at the Coliseum, it is the first Big Ten meeting between the two programs, and it comes against a team that badly needs a statement.

USC is 6-2 and 3-2 in conference play, and it is coming off the worst offensive night of Lincoln Riley's head coaching career. Wisconsin held the Trojans to seven points and minus-18 rushing yards in a 24-7 loss in Madison, the fewest points any Riley team has ever scored. Jayden Maiava threw 50 passes in that game and was sacked five times.

There is something here for Ohio State to work with. USC is allowing 216 passing yards per game, and the simplest way to make life easy for a first-time starter is to find the best receiver on the field early and often. Smith has 52 catches for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Quick throws to him, plus a steady run game, would let Fahey settle in without asking him to win the game alone.

That run game is thinner than it was in September. Running back Ja'Kobi Jackson had foot surgery and could miss the rest of the regular season, which puts more on Bo Jackson, the team's leading rusher with 516 yards. The line does get Austin Siereveld back after he missed two games for a non-football reason.

Day was clear about the assignment all week. "We've got to help a young quarterback get his first win as a Buckeye," he said Tuesday.

What it means

Ohio State is 6-1 and 4-0 in the Big Ten, and its only loss is a 24-23 decision at Texas back in September. A win keeps the Buckeyes level with unbeaten UCLA atop the conference. A loss puts a second mark on the playoff resume and turns a November that still includes Oregon and Michigan into a much more stressful month.

For Day, the logic behind the choice is simple. Fahey won the job in camp, and he was the one who took the snaps when the season was on the line in Bloomington. St. Clair has the bigger recruiting profile, and he has his own small sample, going 5-of-7 for 52 yards with a touchdown and an interception in two appearances. If Fahey struggles early, Day has already said out loud that he is willing to use both.

For USC, this is about as clean a shot at a season-saving win as the Trojans will get: the No. 2 team in the country, a home crowd under the lights and a quarterback making his first career start.

The last word

Ohio State has spent years stacking five-star quarterbacks behind its starter, and on Halloween night it is turning to a 5-foot-11 three-star from Orange County who simply won the job. That is either the opening chapter of a very good story or the start of a very long night in Los Angeles. By about 11 p.m. Eastern, everyone will know which.

Sources: CBS Sports, Ohio State Athletics, Field Level Media, Sports Illustrated, TSN, WSYX, Yahoo Sports, The Big Lead, ClutchPoints and Eleven Warriors. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch (top); Brian McLean/Undrafted.