Ohio State leaves its only regular-season bye week with a lot more to sort through than it probably expected.
The Buckeyes are 6-1, with wins at Iowa and Indiana already on the board - the kind of résumé many fans would have signed up for before the season. But the mood around the program is far shakier now, with multiple starters banged up and a brutal five-game finish waiting on the other side of the break.
The biggest concern is quarterback Julian Sayin. He went down on a first-down sack in the fourth quarter at Indiana, then came out of the game wearing a sling on his right arm.
Afterward, Ryan Day said he expects Sayin to miss “several weeks.” Day didn’t offer more detail, which leaves Ohio State staring at the most important question of all: how long will the Buckeyes be without their starter?
That matters because there’s no soft landing. Ohio State heads to No.
16 USC on Oct. 31, then comes home for Oregon the following week. If Luke Fahey is the next man up, he’ll be thrown straight into the fire.
Fahey is still something of an unknown at this level. The former three-star prospect has played only 40 snaps this season, including 10 in relief of Sayin against Indiana.
Ohio State spent much of that stretch leaning on the run game to protect a fourth-quarter lead. If Fahey is the quarterback for any extended stretch, the offense will have to change with him.
Sayin’s game is built on accuracy and pre-snap command; Fahey brings more mobility and athleticism. Either way, the objective stays the same: get the ball to weapons like Jeremiah Smith, and let the coaching staff shape the system around the quarterback.
The offensive line is another spot Day and his staff have to untangle. Injuries forced Ohio State to shuffle up front earlier in the season, and even if the group gets healthier during the bye, the starting five still isn’t settled.
Austin Siereveld missed the Maryland game on Oct. 10 because of an illness, and at that point he had been working at right tackle while Phillip Daniels was out injured. Against Maryland, Ohio State moved Gabe VanSickle to right tackle and started Jake Cook at right guard. By the time Indiana rolled around, Siereveld was still out, Daniels was back, and VanSickle shifted back inside.
Before the Indiana game, Day said Siereveld would play tackle if available. Whether that was a firm answer or a matchup-specific one isn’t clear.
The Buckeyes could go with Daniels as a sixth offensive lineman, keep Siereveld at right tackle and leave VanSickle at right guard. They could also put Siereveld back at right guard, keep Daniels at tackle and pull VanSickle from the lineup.
There’s even a path where Siereveld ends up at left tackle, which would preserve both VanSickle and Daniels and push Ian Moore out, after Moore allowed 12 pressures and two sacks while protecting Sayin’s blindside this season.
There’s also a quieter development worth watching at receiver. Chris Henry Jr. is starting to carve out a larger role.
Jeremiah Smith remains the offense’s centerpiece, and his place in the Heisman Trophy conversation shows it. But Henry, a five-star freshman, made a noticeable move at Indiana with a season-high two catches for 51 yards.
Both grabs came on a key scoring drive late in the first half.
His usage is still limited overall. He played nine offensive snaps in the Week 2 loss at Texas, and seven of those were run plays.
At Indiana, his snap count only rose by one from that Texas game, but he was more involved as a pass catcher. Day said that kind of usage would come with time.
On the other side of the ball, Ohio State is also monitoring health at two important spots. Jay Timmons spent much of the second half sidelined, while Kenyatta Jackson had to be helped off the field after the game.
Timmons has been dealing with an injury since going down late in the win over Illinois on Sept. 26. He sat out the next two games against Iowa and Maryland before returning at Indiana, where he forced a fumble, broke up two passes and made seven tackles before leaving the game.
Jackson has been Ohio State’s top defensive end this year, with 22 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. He missed part of the fourth quarter at Indiana, though he was on the field for the Hoosiers’ final offensive snap - a fourth-down incompletion to Nick Marsh. Day did not offer an update on Jackson or Timmons after the game, and it remains unclear what Jackson was playing through.
In Other News...
Ohio State Now Faces A Huge Offensive Reset After Indiana
Ohio State left Bloomington with a 19-15 win that snapped Indianas 22-game home unbeaten streak, but the bigger takeaway for the Buckeyes was what happened to Julian Sayin. The quarterback left with an injury and is expected to miss several weeks, which immediately shifts the focus from a gritty road result to how Ohio State manages the offense moving forward.
Luke Fahey is set to start in Sayins place, giving the Buckeyes a fresh look at the games most important position at a critical point in the season. Even with the offense now in flux, Ohio State can point to its defense and special teams as stabilizing forces after the trip to Indiana, but the real question is how quickly the next quarterback can settle in and keep the whole operation on track. [Read more 🡒]
Carnell Tate Is Finally Giving Ohio State Fans A Reason To Watch
Carnell Tate is starting to give Ohio State fans a fresh reason to keep one eye on the NFL scoreboard. The former Buckeyes receiver put together a notable showing for the Tennessee Titans in their first win against the Indianapolis Colts, finishing with six catches for 70 yards and his first NFL touchdown. It was the kind of performance that reminded everyone why he was such an intriguing pro prospect in the first place.
Tate has already shown the range of what his rookie season could look like, following a strong outing against the Baltimore Ravens with a quieter game against the Houston Texans. Even so, he remains near the top of the early award conversation, with Kalshi listing him second in the odds for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. For Ohio State, it is the kind of development worth tracking closely, even if the full answer to just how high his ceiling really is still has time to unfold. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States New Quarterback Just Took An Unexpected Path Here
Luke Fahey arrived in Columbus with the profile of a developmental quarterback, a three-star freshman from California who was expected to work his way in behind the veterans. Instead, the Mission Viejo product has moved himself into the conversation far sooner than anyone likely planned, turning a quiet August into a meaningful opportunity for a player who piled up more than 7,000 passing yards in high school and committed to Ohio State in 2025.
What has stood out inside the program is how quickly Fahey climbed during preseason camp, enough to earn the trust of teammates and coaches and force his way up the depth chart. For Ohio State, the bigger picture now is less about where he started and more about how ready he looks in the moment, with a freshman who was once viewed as a depth piece suddenly carrying real weight in the quarterback room. [Read more 🡒]