Back in the 2014 season, the Ohio State football program accomplished one of the greatest feats in college football history. They were able to win a national championship with their third-string quarterback. Braxton Miller went down in training camp, and J.T. Barrett got hurt against Michigan. That left Cardale Jones to lead the team to a title.
This year, the Ohio State Buckeyes find themselves in a similar situation. Julian Sayin is very likely not taking another snap this season. That means it will be either Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair as the starter for the rest of the season. However, they can turn this into a 2014-type year.
Ohio State can turn this year into a repeat of the 2014 national title season
In that 2014 CFP run, the Buckeyes ran an offense that played to Jones' strengths. They rarely threw the ball over the middle. Instead, they utilized his strong arm and threw the ball deep and outside the numbers. That led the team to have a ton of success offensively.
The same needs to be done for Fahey or St. Clair. At this point, it seems to be Fahey. Arthur Smith needs to curate an offense that will allow him to do what he does best, whatever that is. We've seen so little of Fahey that it's hard to tell what that offense might look like.
Fahey does scramble better than Sayin, so perhaps they use his legs. They will also find a way to get Jeremiah Smith involved in some easy offense. Getting him the ball with some easy passes can get Fahey some confidence early in games, which is something he needs.
That 2014 team also leaned on the running game. While this team doesn't have a running back in the same stratosphere as Ezekiel Elliott, the backs should be counted on more. Bo Jackson and Isaiah West will need to help the Buckeyes pick up yards in order to win games.
Ohio State has two weeks to prepare for the rest of the season
When Jones started the 2014 Big Ten Championship, he only had a week to prepare. Fahey will have the luxury of almost two full weeks to prepare for his first game against the Trojans of USC. That preparation will essentially decide the fate of Ohio State's season.
If they can find a way to get Fahey comfortable as a starter, Ohio State can still win a national title. If they fail to put him in positions to be successful, the Buckeyes will likely either miss the CFP entirely or flame out early. Either scenario is not acceptable for this team.
The Buckeyes are a really good team, even with Fahey starting. They have to show off that depth over the next few weeks if they are going to win a second national championship in three years. That's what this program is chasing. Day would even surpass Urban Meyer in Ohio State lore if he did that.
Meyer won the program's most unlikely title. Let's see if Day can do something even greater.
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