Ohio State’s Season Is in Jeopardy After Julian Sayin Injury

If you scrolled through social media during an Ohio State game, you would think Julian Sayin was performing like prime Brandon Weeden on the Browns. Sayin is a flawed player, and has struggled against better defenses, but he was still the by far best option for Ohio State at quarterback.

Unfortunately, Sayin went down with what seems to be a season ending injury in his worst performance of his career, and the Buckeyes season is now in jeopardy. Sayin wasn’t really lighting the world on fire at Indiana, and he really struggled at Texas as well, but the backup options look incredibly bleak for Ohio State.

Ryan Day can go with true freshman Luke Fahey, who looked like he had never stepped on a football field when he came in for relief of Sayin last Saturday, or they can go with former five-star Tavien St. Clair, who couldn’t beat out Fahey in camp.

The one saving grace for Ohio State is that they’re on a bye this week. However, their gauntlet of a schedule picks up right where it left off with a trip to the west coast to face off with USC, then coming right back home to face Oregon.

So, who will Day choose as his start going into USC? Something beneficial from both of these quarterbacks is they are substantially more athletic than Sayin. St. Clair is more of a traditional dual threat QB, while Fahey is slightly less athletic, but more of a hard nose runner. Because of that, I think Fahey is the guy I’d give the first look to.

Ohio State needs a guy who is willing to put his body on the line and fight for every possible yard. Fahey looked solid as a passer in his previous showings, but his struggles against Indiana are leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Fortunately for whichever quarterback Day goes with, they are facing a USC defense that has been incredibly soft. The Trojans are going to be able to put up points, but they also might be the least physical defense I’ve watched in the Big Ten this year.

Also, while their might be some growing pains for Fahey and St. Clair, there is one reason I believe in both of them, and that is Jeremiah Smith. Currently, Smith is still a strong favorite to take home the Heisman, and I don’t think he’s looking to lose this race because of a backup quarterback. The Buckeyes beat Indiana by chucking it up to Smith, and I think we’re going to see a lot more of that if Ohio State wants to find themselves back in the playoffs.