LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 31: Luke Fahey #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs the ball against Braylan Shelby #10 of the USC Trojans during the third quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
The Ohio State Buckeyes have a problem.
No, it's not about the fact that true freshman Luke Fahey is starting at quarterback with Julian Sayin out indefinitely due to an injury to his right (throwing) arm.
And no, it's not about the fact that former five-star QB Tavien St. Clair, a native of Bellefontaine, Ohio, hasn't been able to beat out Fahey for this current gig.
It's not even about the reality that the Buckeyes now have two losses and probably have to win out to ensure they make the College Football Playoff.
It's about the way things worked around Fahey in Saturday's loss at USC.
With a couple days to process what happened, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day made his usual Monday night radio appearance and made it clear that this wasn't about Fahey. This was about the rest of the roster around him.
Day pointed out what everyone already knew — that starting Fahey comes with complications.
The Buckeyes simply have less margin for error with Fahey playing than when Sayin was out there.
"One of the challenges to the entire team was with the freshman quarterback; everyone needs to step up, and that didn't happen," Day said. "Obviously, it starts with the coaching, and we have to do a better job of making sure these guys are more prepared."
Ohio State has the level of talent to overcome having a lesser quarterback, but that's not what happened on Saturday.
The Buckeyes' offense was limited with Fahey, and too many mistakes across the board let them down.
"Really did a poor job of execution in the game," Day said. "The penalties really set us back in the red zone. When we got down in there, we moved the ball decently to get down in the red zone. We ran for over 200 yards and had a bunch of explosive plays. But once we got in the red area, we really shot ourselves in the foot sometimes and didn't execute."
Day also had plenty of negative things to say about defense and special teams. It was just a poor Ohio State showing, and it didn't do Fahey any favors.
GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 31: Luke Fahey #13 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs the ball against Braylan Shelby #10 of the USC Trojans during the third quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
What Day didn't do on his radio show was give any doubt that Fahey will remain the starting QB going forward.
Unless something changes during the week, Fahey looks set to be QB1 against Oregon on Saturday.
There's still no real indication of how long Sayin is out, or why St. Clair isn't getting a chance, but this much is clear — Ohio State's whole roster will have to step up to make sure Fahey can keep the Buckeyes alive in pursuit of a CFP spot.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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