Ohio State is in the nightmare scenario for their season. Julian Sayin went down against Indiana and will miss a significant amount of time. It happened during the hardest part of the Buckeyes' schedule, although they do have a bye this week. Still, it's a horrible time for a massive injury.
Luke Fahey is the guy who will step up and lead the team moving forward. It's unclear how long he will be in that starting role, but it's a big spot for him to step into. While Sayin is clearly the best quarterback on the roster, Fahey does do one thing better than he does.
Luke Fahey is a better runner than Julian Sayin
Fahey is a more mobile quarterback than Sayin is. Sayin made it a point to improve his scrambling in the offseason, and we saw that over the first half of the season. Still, he's far from a dual-threat. Fahey falls into that category much more, and he even showed it against IU.
With him in the pocket, Fahey can move around and take extra yards given to him better than Sayin does. He's faster and should be able to pick up yards with his legs, and that includes a key first down. Of course, running him is a massive risk for injury, which Ohio State can't afford.
Still, Fahey is going to need to use his legs on passing plays. Teams are going to load the box to stop the run and force him to beat them. Jeremiah Smith is a great weapon, but he might be triple-teamed for the rest of the year. Fahey is going to need to pick up extra yards from time to time.
In high school, Fahey ran for 496 yards as a sophomore. As a junior, he ran for three touchdowns. He can use his legs. How much Arthur Smith is going to allow him to do so remains to be seen. The last thing they want is for him to get hurt so they have to use a third-string QB.
Ohio State can tailor the offense to Luke Fahey's strengths
The good news about this awful situation is that the Ohio State Buckeyes have two weeks to prepare Fahey for his first start against USC. That gives the coaching staff time to curate a game plan and an offense that will play to his strengths. It also gives the rest of the team a chance to get healthy.
The Ohio State football program does have a history of success with backup quarterbacks. The 2014 team has gone down as the most improbable national champion in college football history. However, this situation is a little bit different because of the skill set at the position.
Ryan Day has a chance to show that he truly is the best coach in the country. If he somehow gets through this portion of the schedule unscathed, there should be no more complaints about him. Fahey has an incredible opportunity in front of him. Day has to make sure that he's ready.
The bye week won't be so restful after all.
Add us as a preferred source on Google