Ohio State hosts Oregon on CBS as Luke Fahey makes first home start without Julian Sayin

Ohio State returns to Ohio Stadium on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff against Oregon. CBS has the national broadcast, with Brad Nessler and Charles Davis calling it, according to The Sporting News. Paramount+ carries the stream, and live-TV services such as Fubo also offer it. On SiriusXM, the Ohio State radio call is on channel 85 and Oregon's is on 269.

The bigger story is who takes the snaps. Freshman Luke Fahey makes his first home start in place of Julian Sayin, who got hurt in the fourth quarter of the 19-15 win at Indiana. CBS Sports reports that Sayin had surgery on a fractured elbow. Before the injury he ranked third nationally in both passing yards (2,007) and touchdown passes (19). Ryan Day said on his radio show that the injury "looks to be healing," but Eleven Warriors reports that Day ruled out a return within the next month. That would keep Sayin out for the rest of the regular season.

Fahey threw for 260 yards and a touchdown in his debut start, an 18-30 loss at USC, CBS Sports reported. He was not helped by dropped passes and spotty pass protection. The Sporting News noted that the defeat dropped the Buckeyes nine spots in the AP poll. CBS Sports added that a third loss could end Ohio State's playoff hopes.

What it means for Saturday

Ohio State is 6-2. Before the injury, the offense averaged better than 36 points a game, helped by blowouts of Ball State, Kent State and Maryland. The defense has carried the team all season, allowing 15.5 points per game, and nobody has scored more than 30 on it. The worry is the offense since the quarterback change: 19 points at Indiana, where Fahey finished the game, then 18 at USC.

Oregon comes in at 5-3, and its losses have mostly been low-scoring games. The Ducks lost 15-17 to UCLA and 10-21 at Illinois, with a 17-14 win over Nebraska in between. They have won once on the road this season, 41-27 at USC. Last week's 34-26 win over Northwestern was their best offensive game in a month.

The board on this game's page has Ohio State favored even with Fahey at quarterback. Twelve venues are listed, and they barely differ on the outright winner. Novig has the Buckeyes at -270 and Oregon at +264. The best Oregon price anywhere is +265 at BetRivers. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.5% to 6.2%.

The venues split more on the margin. Novig has Ohio State favored by 7.5 at -104, with Oregon +7.5 at +102. BetMGM offers the best Oregon line at +8 (-110). On the total, Novig sits at 44.5 and Hard Rock Bet is a point higher at 45.5. That number fits two offenses that have struggled to put up points against Big Ten defenses lately.

Next week Ohio State hosts Northwestern, and Oregon travels to Michigan.