Ohio State chose to start Luke Fahey on Saturday against USC in the Buckeyes’ first game this season without injured starting QB Julian Sayin.
Fahey was fine, but he didn’t find a way to put a ton of pressure on the Trojans, and Ohio State lost on the road, its second defeat of the season.
The Buckeyes are now 6-2 — here’s what that might mean for the College Football Playoff picture.
But on this page, it’s important to consider too what this means for the quarterback picture for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State had two choices for Saturday: Fahey, a three-star true freshman, or Tavien St. Clair, a five-star QB in his second year on campus.
St. Clair, the strong-armed passer from Bellefontaine, Ohio, got the short straw and remained on the sideline. Fahey played, and he played the whole game.
The loss, though, raises the temperature. There’s no time to waste on answering the question of what happens next at QB (assuming Sayin isn’t returning anytime soon).
Tavien St. Clair Starting Question
Fahey wasn’t bad, but does Ohio State feel like it can win out with Fahey at quarterback? And if not, wouldn’t St. Clair be worth a shot?
The Buckeyes obviously see these quarterbacks every day in practice and in the meeting rooms. They have a better idea than any of us do about what the options actually look like here.
It just feels silly on paper for this season to sink in Columbus without giving the five-star QB from the Buckeye State a shot.
It’s unlikely that Fahey was bad enough to warrant a benching after one week, but this season is a lot closer to being on egg shells than it was before.
The Buckeyes will have to (or at least should) consider Fahey’s performance drive by drive going forward. If Ohio State struggles in the first half next week against Oregon, that would certainly raise the chance of bringing on St. Clair for the second half.
Maybe St. Clair isn’t the answer. The Buckeyes certainly haven’t given him a chance to be one, and maybe that’s for a reason.
But if Fahey and the offense don’t play more explosively than they did at USC, that could be a problem. Their only other chance to solve it is St. Clair.
Another Tavien St. Clair Problem
The Buckeyes surely know this, but if St. Clair doesn’t play down the stretch, all logic would dictate that he’d transfer.
It’s not a given, and it likely wouldn’t be decided until the season is over, but quarterbacks don’t stick around in this day and age.
Ohio State may know already it doesn’t care to see the finished product of St. Clair after watching him closely for two years. Still, it’d be an odd ending for the kid from Bellefontaine to never even get his chance.
Ohio State’s Tavien St. Clair Question Needs Answer After Luke Fahey Start