Buckeyes Idle as Sayin Sits Out Indefinitely
Ohio State used its bye week to sort out quarterback after Julian Sayin hurt his throwing arm at Indiana, with a trip to USC next on Oct. 31.
Ohio State did not play Saturday, Oct. 24. The bigger question hanging over the open date was who will play quarterback when the Buckeyes return.
Starter Julian Sayin is out "indefinitely" with an injury to his right, throwing arm, coach Ryan Day has said, according to Heavy Sports.
How it happened
Sayin was hurt in the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 19–15 win at Indiana on Oct. 17, according to The Associated Press. The game matched the nation's No. 4 and No. 5 teams.
Early in that quarter, Sayin threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on fourth-and-1 to put Ohio State ahead 19–7, the AP reported. He left the game soon after. Heavy reported that he left the field with his arm in a sling.
Before the injury, Sayin completed 15 of 29 passes for 235 yards with two interceptions, according to the AP. It was his second straight game with two interceptions.
Right after the game, Day sounded less certain about the timeline. "I don't have a ton of details, but it looks like Julian will be out several weeks," Day said, according to the AP.
Indiana nearly took the lead late. Josh Hoover's 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh and a two-point conversion cut the lead to 19–15 with 10:30 left. On the Hoosiers' final drive, Marsh's left foot landed out of bounds on what would have been the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left, the AP reported.
The win left Ohio State 6–1 overall and 4–0 in the Big Ten.
Who's next at quarterback
Freshman Luke Fahey finished the Indiana game. The AP described him as looking rushed at times in his first significant action.
Ohio State has not named a starter, according to Heavy. The choice is between Fahey and former five-star recruit Tavien St. Clair, who Heavy reported is behind Fahey on the depth chart.
Heavy reported that the Buckeyes remain "still in position to make the College Football Playoff."
The road ahead
Ohio State plays at USC on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, according to Heavy, which listed the Trojans at No. 16.
The rest of the regular season, per Heavy: Oregon at home Nov. 7, Northwestern at home Nov. 14, at Nebraska Nov. 21 and Michigan at home Nov. 28 at noon.