Ohio State heads to USC with Fahey or St. Clair at quarterback

Ohio State will start a quarterback who has never started a college game when the No. 2 Buckeyes play at USC on Saturday. Head coach Ryan Day said Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that freshman Luke Fahey and sophomore Tavien St. Clair are both in the mix for the job, and he did not name a starter.

Day's announcement comes after starter Julian Sayin was ruled out indefinitely last week. Sayin left the Buckeyes' 19-15 win over Indiana on Oct. 17 with an injury, and Fahey took over for him. Ohio State has not started a backup at quarterback since the 2024 season.

Day said Fahey was ahead of St. Clair entering the Indiana game. During the bye week that followed, both quarterbacks took first-team work in practice. "I think both quarterbacks practiced well last week, which was good, it was good energy, guys were rallying around both guys," Day said. He added that the team is preparing offensive packages for each player.

The Buckeyes will decide the starter after more practice this week. "We need to stack a few more days, and then we'll kind of go into the game and figure out what gives us the best chance to win," Day said. He also said two quarterbacks could appear in the game. "It's definitely possible," Day said. "What the situations would be and what the circumstances would be, we'd have to see."

Neither Fahey nor St. Clair has started a game. The winner of the competition would take his first start at LA Memorial Coliseum, a venue Ohio State has not visited since 1989.

Day told the team that support for the new starter has to come from every part of the roster. "It's going to be everybody's job to rally around our quarterback," he said. "We need everybody in the building, we need the defense, we need the special teams, we need the offense, the offensive line, the receivers. Everyone's got to help out here." He also called on fans and Buckeye Nation.

USC enters Saturday unranked after a 24-7 loss to Wisconsin last Saturday, its second defeat of the season. The Trojans had been ranked earlier in the season. Day said the Buckeyes expect a difficult opponent regardless of the ranking. "This is as talented [of] a team as I've seen on film, and we're going to get their best shot," Day said.

Day said the loss of Sayin does not change the team's objective for the trip to Los Angeles. "Nobody foresaw this happening, but at the same time, you have to have a plan for it, and that's why these guys are on the roster," Day said. The Buckeyes are scheduled to kick off Saturday at LA Memorial Coliseum.