The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes entered Saturday night’s road matchup against the USC Trojans knowing they couldn’t put all the pressure on true freshman quarterback Luke Fahey.
And they ultimately failed to do that. The special teams struggled, and the defense couldn’t get off the field without allowing points as USC won 30-18 to pull off the upset and hand the Buckeyes their second loss of the season.
The offense, with Fahey commanding it, wasn’t perfect, as they stalled out several times in USC territory. But all in all, asking him to go out and put the team on his back and win the game wasn’t realistic. And it seemed that’s what Ohio State tried to do Saturday night.
Ryan Day Places Blame for Loss
Speaking to the media after the game, Ryan Day was quite blunt about why Ohio State lost, and it wasn’t Fahey.
Day made it clear that there were simply too many costly mistakes. He blamed the loss on “too many penalties” and failing to execute in the red zone.
Ryan Day said there were “just way too many mistakes” in Ohio State’s loss to USC, and said the Buckeyes needed to do more as a team to support Luke Fahey in his first start. https://t.co/E1Fp100FWU
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 1, 2026
Fahey ended the game completing 21 of 28 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown. The Buckeyes rushed for 204 yards on the ground as a team. They totaled over 460 yards collectively on offense but having just 18 points to show for it.
Jeremiah Smith led all Buckeyes wide receivers with 10 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Looking at Ohio State
It’s safe to say the Buckeyes’ season is now firmly on life support with two losses.
Ohio State will get to head back home to Columbus this week for a matchup against the Oregon Ducks. After that, they’ll finish off the regular season with matchups against Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan. They’ll likely have to win out to remain in the College Football Playoff picture.
Ohio State Coach Ryan Day Places Blame for Upset Loss to USC