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Ohio State turns to freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback for USC trip, reports say
With Julian Sayin hurt, Ohio State will reportedly start true freshman Luke Fahey at USC, his first college start, with the Buckeyes favored on the road.
Ohio State will start true freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback Saturday night at USC. It will be his first college start, and it comes because Julian Sayin is out with an injury. CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz first reported the decision, according to The Big Lead, which Yahoo Sports also ran. On3 separately reported the same choice through Pete Nakos.
Sayin hurt his throwing arm in the fourth quarter of the 19-15 win at Indiana two weeks ago, and ESPN reported he is sidelined indefinitely. The Big Lead reported that Ryan Day said the Buckeyes are planning to be without him for the rest of the season. Day kept his choice quiet through the bye week. It came down to Fahey and Tavien St. Clair, a five-star prospect from Bellefontaine, Ohio, who ranked among the top five overall recruits in the 2025 class.
Fahey had the edge. He beat out St. Clair for the backup job in preseason camp, according to ESPN, and he was the one who replaced Sayin in Bloomington. In limited snaps this season, the former three-star recruit has completed 9 of 13 passes for 203 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. St. Clair has played in two games and is 5 of 7 for 52 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Fahey played high school football at Mission Viejo, so his first start comes close to home, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
He will have Jeremiah Smith and a deep receiving group to work with. That support matters because, as The Big Lead noted, Ohio State has had trouble running the ball. USC gives up 216 passing yards per game, which ranks 14th in the Big Ten according to the same report.
What it means for Saturday at USC
Ohio State is 6-1 and has won five straight since losing 24-23 at Texas. The Buckeyes are scoring 39.3 points per game and allowing 13.4. Their defense carried the Indiana win, holding a top-five opponent to 15 points on the road. USC is 6-2 and comes in after a 24-7 loss at Wisconsin, a week after winning 31-23 at Penn State. The Trojans average about 32.8 points but allow 25. They also lost at home to Oregon, 41-27.
The quarterback change has not moved Ohio State out of the favorite's role. Across 12 venues on this site's board, the Buckeyes are favored on the moneyline at -223 on Novig, and the best price anywhere is FanDuel's -220. With that little gap between them, the venues mostly agree on the Buckeyes' chances. USC is +213 on Novig. Novig has Ohio State as a 6.5-point favorite at -104, and BetRivers has the shortest number at -5.5, priced at -118. The total is 51.5 on Novig, and theScore Bet lists 50.5. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.2% to 6.6%.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. A one-point number gap on both the spread and the total suggests the market has not fully settled on how much offense Ohio State loses with Sayin out. Fahey's first full game will start to answer that question.