Ohio State’s Loss to USC Was a Complete Embarrassment

The Ohio State Buckeyes were humiliated by the USC Trojans on Saturday in a loss so embarrassing that they should still be ashamed.

The Buckeyes were completely unprepared. They went into this game with an extra week of preparation. But they knew they’d be without quarterback Julian Sayin, who will probably miss the rest of the season.

True freshman Luke Fahey somewhat mysteriously got the starting quarterback nod.

In Ohio State circles, it wasn’t really a secret that Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day preferred Fahey over Tavien St. Clair, who has been with the program since last year, but hasn’t seen any meaningful action.

Fahey wasn’t great. But he was far from the reason Ohio State lost. The Buckeyes had more yards than the Trojans, but Ohio State’s inability to capitalize in the red zone caused them to lose a 30-18 ball game.

Even worse, the loss exposed Ohio State’s lack of identity, on either side of the football. Obviously, they lost a ton of defensive stars to the NFL Draft. Replacing seven NFL-caliber players is a tall task, especially when five of those players were first and second-round draft picks.

On the other side of the ball, what exactly is new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith trying to accomplish?

He was known for his run schemes in the NFL, but the Buckeyes aren’t some great rushing threat, despite having a stable of capable running backs. Outside of throwing the ball to superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the offense just doesn’t have much of a pulse.

Even after the defeat, Smith is a frontrunner to win the Heisman trophy. He caught 10 passes for 83 yards and one touchdown in the defeat.

After losing to the Trojans on a day where Lincoln Riley quite literally needed a victory to possibly avoid being fired, Ohio State’s schedule doesn’t look as easy.

The third-ranked team in the Big Ten hosts unranked Oregon on Saturday. The Ducks are also without their starting quarterback in Dante Moore, who will likely be a first-round NFL Draft pick in April. Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola has much more experience than Fahey, however.

After Oregon, Ohio State will face Northwestern and Nebraska before hosting Michigan for The Game.

It’s undoubtedly a down year for Ohio State. The same could be said for a lot of teams around college football, as it feels like there’s truly not a single elite team this year.

In a 12-team College Football Playoff format, Ohio State still controls its fate despite losses against Texas and now USC. If Ohio State can run the table and Smith looks like the actual Heisman winner, the Buckeyes will undoubtedly get a playoff bid.

But if the Buckeyes look as dazed as they did in Southern California, it could be onto next year in Columbus.