Buckeye Backups Set to Battle for the Ohio State Starting QB Job

If there is a silver lining to be found in this entire Julian Sayin situation, it is that it happened during the bye week, so the Ohio State Buckeyes have some time to get their ducks in a row.

The bad part, amongst many bad parts about this injury is that the first start for either Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair is going to get their first start on the road against the USC Trojans in a primetime slot. The environment is going to be massive, and the challenge is going to be large for whoever it may be.

While we have seen Fahey first up in each of the games this season, Ryan Day said that there will be a competition this week to find next week's starter. After releasing the news that Sayin was likely going to miss the remainder of the season, he said that the bye week is going to be an open competition for the two young players.

Fahey had gotten the first opportunities because, up until this point, he had shown the Buckeyes' staff more than St. Clair had. That will still be the case, and Fahey is going to have the lead going into the bye week, but the competition is on for those two players.

One thing is for sure: whoever gets the nod as the quarterback is going to be in great hands, with Ryan Day creating the game plan for the first start. This is where a guy like Arthur Smith, as the offensive coordinator, is going to have to lean heavily on Day's experience.

I think back to week one of the 2025 season when the Texas Longhorns came to Columbus against the Buckeyes' freshman starter, Julian Sayin.

One thing that Day said after the game is still ringing through my head a full year later. He said that it didn't matter what happened in that game. The only important thing was that the Buckeyes had one more point than the Longhorns. He didn't care how many yards he threw for, how many touchdowns, or how many completions. All that mattered was one more point than Texas.

They got it that day, and that's the message next week against the USC Trojans. It doesn't matter who scores the touchdowns or how it happens. Next week, only one thing matters: scoring one more point than the USC Trojans.

Whoever is going to get the nod under center will have to earn it this week as they battle it out.