The Ohio State Buckeyes got their revenge against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, holding on for a 19-15 win in Bloomington in a rematch of last season’s Big Ten Championship Game. But the victory may have come at a steep price.
Star quarterback Julian Sayin left the game in the fourth quarter with an arm injury, and head coach Ryan Day said afterward that the Buckeyes expect to be without him for a while. That leaves Ohio State with some big questions under center heading into the toughest part of its schedule.
‘Probably be out several weeks’
Sayin was sacked and fumbled midway through the fourth quarter, though the Buckeyes recovered. He then headed to the locker room favoring his right arm and later returned to the sideline wearing a sling.
After the game, Day didn’t have many specifics on the injury, but he made it clear that Sayin won’t be back anytime soon.
“I don’t have a ton of details, but he’ll probably be out several weeks,” Day told reporters after the game via On3. “We’ll have to come up with a plan there.”
That’s a massive blow for the Buckeyes. Sayin, a Heisman Trophy finalist last season, came into Saturday having thrown for 1,772 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
A Problem For Ohio State
True freshman Luke Fahey took over after Sayin went down, and the Ohio State offense didn’t exactly inspire much confidence the rest of the way.
Fahey went 0-for-2 passing as the Buckeyes leaned almost entirely on the running game to close things out. Indiana nearly made them pay for it, as Josh Hoover appeared to hit Nick Marsh for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left.
The good news for Ohio State is that it has a bye next week, giving the coaching staff some extra time to prepare Fahey. But the schedule gets tough in a hurry after that.
The Buckeyes travel to face USC on Oct. 31, then return home to host Oregon and Northwestern. A road trip to Nebraska follows on Nov. 21 before Michigan comes to The Horseshoe on Nov. 28.
Clearly, Ohio State’s 6-1 start and its College Football Playoff hopes could depend on how Fahey handles the next few weeks.
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