The Ohio State Buckeyes won a crucial Big Ten battle against Indiana, but in doing so, their quest to win the ultimate war of a national championship took a blow, as starting quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin is expected to miss “several weeks” with a right shoulder injury he suffered during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s road victory, Ryan Day announced after the game.
Sayin sustained the injury on a first down play with 8:05 remaining in the fourth quarter when he was sacked by Indiana’s Mario Landino. As Landino wrapped up Sayin for the sack, the Buckeyes quarterback’s right arm was awkwardly pinned upward against his body. Sayin exited the game and did not return, though he was spotted on the sideline with his right arm in a sling in the waning moments of Ohio State’s win.
With Sayin sidelined for the next several weeks, it begs the question. Who will be starting in his stead for the Buckeyes?
Who is Julian Sayin’s backup?
Heading into the season, many expected former five-star recruit Tavien St. Clair to be the first off the bench to relieve Sayin in the event of an injury. Surprisingly, that was not the case against Indiana, as it was freshman signal-caller Luke Fahey who emerged in relief.
Fahey attempted just two passes, both of which fell incomplete, and the Buckeyes offense stalled with him under center at the end of the game, though it’s fair to note that the Ohio State–Indiana game didn’t feature stellar QB play for much of the contest.
With a bye week coming up, the Buckeyes will have two weeks to prepare for an Oct. 31 clash with USC, but, given the team rolled with Fahey in such a huge game against a Big Ten rival, it’s fair to assume that it will once again be Fahey under center against the Trojans.
Who is Luke Fahey?
Fahey, a former three-star recruit, arrived in Columbus, Ohio in July of 2025. The first signs that he had beaten out the more renowned St. Clair emerged during the Buckeyes’ season-opening win over Ball State, when he was the first QB to enter the contest after Sayin sat with the game in hand.
Fahey is a bit undersized at 5'11" and 206 pounds but was regarded as one of the more accurate passers in the 2026 recruiting class, also showcasing the ability to extend plays with his legs when needed.
Thus far in 2026, Fahey has completed nine of 11 passes for 203 yards, two touchdown passes and a pair of interceptions, numbers that were largely recorded in fill-in duty vs. Ball State and Kent State.
Understandably, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day kept his future QB plans close to the vest, but the fact that he expressed confidence in Fahey, while acknowledging that perhaps the game was a bit too fast for him initially, was perhaps telling for how the Buckeyes are going to view this QB room moving forward.
“It’s not the same when you come in as a young freshman like that in that spot,” Day said. “But one thing about Luke, and you could see on that scramble he made, I mean, he stepped right up. He’s got confidence. He’s got athletic ability. He’s a competitive kid, so I don’t think the moment was too big for him. It was just moving fast for him, and if he had a few more drives, he would’ve found the speed of the game.”
The toughest part of the Buckeyes’ schedule has come and gone, but two ranked teams—USC and Northwestern—remain on the schedule, as well as clashes against unranked-but-worthy Big Ten foes in Oregon and Nebraska. And of course, the Ohio State–Michigan game awaits at the end of the season.
The fact that the Buckeyes squeaked past Indiana and kept themselves a one-loss team gave themselves—and Fahey—a bigger margin for error in the coming weeks. Plus, throwing the ball to Jeremiah Smith, the best player in college football, certainly helps. But make no mistake. The freshman QB is going to be thrown into the Big Ten fire as the Buckeyes make their push for the College Football Playoff.
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