Head coach Ryan Day speaks to the media on Oct. 20, 2026.
Credit: Natalie Boggs | Arts and Life Photo Editor

The Buckeyes will face USC for the first time in head coach Ryan Day’s tenure Saturday.

Ohio State will head to Los Angeles with a new quarterback under center.?

After Day announced that starting quarterback Julian Sayin was out indefinitely a week ago, the starting position is now in the hands of freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair, who each have not started a game in their careers.

Here are two takeaways on Ohio State’s quarterback competition from Day’s Tuesday press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Saturday’s starting quarterback unnamed?

Ohio State will play without Sayin as the team’s starting quarterback for the first time since the 2024 season.?

The quarterback who will take the starting role was not announced by Day on Tuesday.

When Sayin went out with an injury in the Buckeyes’ 19-15 win over Indiana on Oct. 17, Fahey entered the game.

“Like I said before, Luke [Fahey] was ahead of Tavien [St. Clair] going into the Indiana game,” Day said.?

Day described how the two underclassmen quarterbacks competed during the team’s bye week last week.??

“I think both quarterbacks practiced well last week, which was good, it was good energy, guys were rallying around both guys and we’ll keep working this week and keep working on packages for both guys,” Day said.?

Day said whichever quarterback gives the team a better opportunity to win the game, will become the team’s starter.

“We need to stack a few more days, and then we’ll kind of go into the game and figure out what gives us the best chance to win,” Day said.?

He also did not rule out the possibility of the Buckeyes playing two quarterbacks Saturday.

“It’s definitely possible,” Day said. “What the situations would be and what the circumstances would be, we’d have to see. But yeah, there’s definitely a chance.”

Rallying around new quarterback

Fahey or St. Clair will start their first career game in LA Memorial Coliseum, a stadium that Ohio State has not played in since 2008.?

Day said that the rest of the team will have to come together to support the new starter.

“It’s going to be everybody’s job to rally around our quarterback,” Day said. “We need everybody in the building, we need the defense, we need the special teams, we need the offense, the offensive line, the receivers. Everyone’s got to help out here, but? we need everybody too, we need fans. We need Buckeye Nation to rally around our quarterback.”

Despite Sayin being ruled out and having an inexperienced signal caller, Day said the team’s goal of winning remains the same.?

“Nobody foresaw this happening, but at the same time, you have to have a plan for it, and that’s why these guys are on the roster,” Day said. “So this is an unbelievable opportunity for them and an opportunity for our team to rally together to go on the road and that’s got to be the approach; is to win this game. Nothing else. Not looking ahead to what’s down the road. It’s going to take everything we have, and you see it all across college football right now, that it’s hard to win, it’s hard to win on the road, and this will be no different. So we’ve got to be at our best.”

The No. 2 Buckeyes will face the Trojans had been ranked all season, but now are unranked after dropping their second game of the season, in a 24-7 loss to Wisconsin last Saturday.?

“We’re going on the road against a really good opponent, I know they had a tough game last week, but this is as talented [of] a team as I’ve seen on film, and we’re going to get their best shot,” Day said.