Which backup QB can best guide Ohio State to the playoff - ESPN

Ohio State's season — and its College Football Playoff aspirations — now rest in the hands of a backup quarterback.

With Heisman hopeful Julian Sayin sidelined indefinitely with an injured right throwing arm, the Buckeyes will turn to either true freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair to lead their offense. Fahey won the backup job during preseason camp and replaced Sayin in the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 19-15 win over No. 5 Indiana. Coach Ryan Day, however, plans to give both quarterbacks reps during the Buckeyes' bye week.

«We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win,» Day said Monday. «Going into the last few games, Luke's been ahead of Tavien in terms of what we've seen, but now that we have a bye week, these guys are both going to get a lot of reps, and we're going to start to put together a plan on how we're going to move forward. We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win.»

The decision comes with little margin for error. The Buckeyes travel to No. 16 USC on Oct. 31, giving Day less than two weeks to determine which inexperienced quarterback is best equipped to lead a team with big ambitions. Matchups with Oregon Ducks, No. 24 Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan loom for a Buckeyes team that has already lost once this season to Texas.

So, what does each quarterback bring to the offense, and which one gives the Buckeyes their best chance to win?

Fahey: A high three-star prospect who ranked as the No. 32 quarterback in the 2025 class, Fahey was productive in high school, throwing for 7,021 yards, 68 touchdowns and just nine interceptions at Mission Viejo in California. He visited Indiana, Stanford, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Oregon State before committing to