Could Buckeyes' Luke Fahey Be the Better Backup but the Worse Starter?

The Ohio State Buckeyes find themselves in a really peculiar situation as they have to keep their eyes on a National Championship run, but have to do it with a backup at the helm. 

By now, everyone knows what happened on Saturday in Bloomington and the situation that the Buckeyes find themselves in now. However, Fox's Joel Klatt presented a fascinating new perspective on how the Buckeyes might handle the tryout to be the guy going forward. 

Freshman Luke Fahey has been the first one off the bench for the entire year, and when Sayin left the game against Indiana, it was Fahey who was the first one up. Fahey didn't really do all that much on Saturday except keep the train on the track and help the Buckeyes stay in the lead. 

It wasn't necessarily a surprise as Fahey had been the first guy off the bench for the entire season, but it was a surprise because of how good Tavien St. Clair was projected to be and what the expectations are for him. 

So, as the Buckeyes hold a battle for the position, Fox's Joel Klatt presented a different vantage point for how the Buckeyes might handle this situation.

He explained that when he meets with coaches prior to kickoff, the conversations that are had surrounding the backup quarterbacks are whether the second guy on the depth chart is good enough to just run the offense and keep the team going or if he is the best player available.

Sometimes, the most dynamic player is the "third string" guy who has more potential, but if the team needs stability, he may not be the guy.

Maybe that is what the Buckeyes are trying to discover this week while they hold their battle. Is Fahey the very best option for the Buckeyes, or is St. Clair the better option for a longer-term solution? 

Whoever it ends up being, the Buckeyes simply need a guy who can come in and operate the offense. Ohio State's defense is playing well enough that they do not need to be prepared to score 30 points per game; they just need to take care of the football, get it to No. 4, and keep the Buckeyes in the game. 

It's really a major disappointment for everyone on the Buckeyes that Sayin went down the way he did. It was a frustrating injury that is going to set the Buckeyes back.

This program has overcome something like this before, but this time it is going to be significantly more challenging to get the ultimate job done.