Ohio State turns to true freshman Luke Fahey as Julian Sayin sits with shoulder injury

Ohio State left Bloomington with a 19-15 win at No. 5 Indiana and an open question at quarterback. Julian Sayin hurt his throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter, and coach Ryan Day said afterward he will miss "several weeks," ESPN reported. True freshman Luke Fahey finished the game and will start while Sayin is out.

The injury came when Indiana's Mario Landino sacked Sayin, knocked the ball loose and landed on his right shoulder. Sayin came back from the locker room with his arm in a sling. He had been playing at the level of a Heisman finalist, with 71.2% completions, 1,772 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions, per ESPN. Fahey's first snap came on second-and-28. He ran for 8 yards and drew a late-hit penalty that moved the chains.

The Buckeyes did not get here by accident. Buckeyes Wire notes that Fahey was the program's only quarterback commit in the 2026 class. He was a three-star prospect ranked 586th overall, but he won the backup job in camp over Tavien St. Clair, a former five-star from Bellefontaine. Fahey's parents met at Ohio State, and he grew up a Buckeyes fan in Southern California. At Mission Viejo High School he threw for 3,199 yards, 25 touchdowns and three interceptions as a senior, including a school-record 569 yards against Los Alamitos. His college work so far has come in mop-up duty: 5-of-6 for 62 yards and a touchdown against Ball State, and 4-of-5 for 141 yards and a touchdown against Kent State, according to the school's roster page.

The concerns are about his build and his lack of experience. Ohio State lists Fahey at 5-foot-11. HEAVY points to Press Pros Magazine beat writer Jeff Gilbert, who argues that Fahey's height limits what he can do from the pocket. Gilbert expects a game plan built on moving the launch point, quarterback runs and a heavier load for the backs. He also questions whether Day has ever had a backup ready to start.

What it means for USC

The timing helps. Ohio State has a bye this week and returns on Saturday, October 31, at No. 16 USC on NBC. HEAVY notes that Oregon comes the following week. That gives Fahey two weeks of first-team reps before the hardest two-game stretch of the season.

At 6-1, the Buckeyes have leaned on their defense. They have held six of seven opponents under 20 points, and the only loss was 24-23 at No. 4 Texas. The schedule has been uneven, though. Ohio State won by 37 or more over Maryland, Kent State and Ball State but needed a fourth-quarter stand to hold off Indiana. On the Hoosiers' final drive, receiver Nick Marsh failed to get a toe down on what would have been the winning touchdown. Expect the offense to get shorter and more run-heavy, at least at first.

Indiana, now 6-1, plays at Michigan on Saturday on Fox. On this site's board, the Hoosiers are favored at -257 on Novig. The best price anywhere is -240 at Polymarket, and Michigan's best is +240 at FanDuel. The venues do not agree on the spread. Novig hangs Indiana -7.5 at +113, while theScore Bet has -6.5 at -115. The total sits at 41.5 everywhere. Full prices are on the game page. Season numbers are on the Ohio State and Indiana team pages.