Saturday night will be the first time that the Ohio State football team has to play a game without Julian Sayin in two years. Sayin was a Heisman Trophy Finalist last year. Now, Sayin is going to be out for the rest of the year. That means that USC is going to be taking on someone new.
It will likely be Luke Fahey behind center. The Buckeyes have spent the last couple of weeks trying to prepare Fahey for this challenge. With that being the case, we have some bold predictions for this game on Saturday night. One of them has to deal with Fahey and how he will play.
1. Luke Fahey throws for 200+ yards
The passing game is not going to be as prolific as it was with Julian Sayin as the quarterback. However, the last two weeks have given the coaching staff a chance to get Fahey comfortable with the game plan moving forward. Ryan Day recruited him for a reason.
Fahey still has Jeremiah Smith to throw the ball to, and he's the best player in the country. Day will certainly make sure that Smith gets ample targets and touches, even if it will look a bit different than it has for most of the season. Ohio State will have a plan for getting Fahey ready to throw the ball.
I believe that he will throw for at least 200 yards against a bad Trojans defense. USC has struggled to stop opposing offenses and is one of the worst-tackling teams in the country. Smith is too good to be held in check, and he could have a lot of those yards go to him.
2. Ohio State doesn't allow USC to score double-digits
If the Buckeyes are going to win this game, they are going to have to rely on the defense. Over the last few weeks, the defense has been much better, especially at stopping the run. The Trojans struggled to run the ball in their loss against Wisconsin last weekend. They mustered only -17 rushing yards.
Matt Patricia has certainly instilled the importance of playing solid defense now that Sayin isn't healthy. With USC only managing seven points last week, I see something similar on the horizon this weekend. I don't think they'll score double-digit points against Ohio State.
3. Ohio State plays both quarterbacks at some point
Day has said that it's possible that both Fahey and Tavien St. Clair get into the game on Saturday. I do think he's mostly saying that as a ruse and that St. Clair likely won't get a large number of snaps. However, I do think he will decide to play St. Clair at some point.
There could be a package that Ohio State implements that puts St. Clair in the game. The Buckeyes are going to have the element of surprise when it comes to what they do with the quarterbacks. I wouldn't be surprised if St. Clair throws a few passes, as well.
All in all, I fully expect Ohio State to walk out of Los Angeles with a victory.
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