Ohio State Beats Indiana 19-15, but QB Julian Sayin Is Out 'Several Weeks' With a Shoulder Injury

Ohio State got the win it needed in Bloomington. It may have lost its quarterback to get it.

The Buckeyes beat Indiana 19-15 on Saturday, Oct. 17, snapping the Hoosiers' 22-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium. Late in the fourth quarter, starter Julian Sayin left with his right arm in a sling.

How the injury happened

Sayin was sacked by Indiana defensive lineman Mario Landino on a first-down play with 8:05 left. The hit forced a fumble, and Sayin's right arm was pinned awkwardly against his body as he went down. He walked to the locker room and did not return.

Day did not give a diagnosis after the game. He said only that Sayin will be out "several weeks." He did not say whether surgery or imaging is involved, and he did not offer a return date.

Sayin is a 21-year-old junior and was a Heisman finalist last season, his first as the starter. This year he is completing 71.2% of his passes for 1,772 yards, with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. He threw two touchdown passes Saturday, including a 38-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter that made it 19-7.

The finish

Indiana made it close. With just over a minute left, quarterback Josh Hoover found Nick Marsh in the end zone on fourth down. Marsh's foot landed out of bounds, the catch was ruled incomplete, and Ohio State held on.

"Now, listen, if he catches the ball in the corner of the end zone and his foot's, you know, a yard in, we're all sitting here in a different spot," Day said.

Smith finished with four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. He now has 52 catches for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. His 39 career touchdown receptions tie former Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards for the Big Ten record.

Fahey takes over

The backup is Luke Fahey, a 5-foot-11, 206-pound true freshman from Mission Viejo, California. He was a three-star recruit who beat out sophomore Tavien St. Clair for the No. 2 job in the preseason. Sophomore Kolton Stover is also on the roster.

Fahey's first snap came on second-and-28 after Sayin's fumble. He scrambled for 8 yards and drew a late-hit penalty on Indiana that gave Ohio State a first down. He then went 0-for-2 passing, and the offense stalled.

Day said he has no doubts. "He's got confidence, he's got athletic ability, he's a competitive kid," Day said. "I don't think the moment was too big for him."

Senior guard Luke Montgomery said the team backs him too. "We wouldn't have Fahey out there if we didn't have full trust in him," Montgomery said. "Whatever happens with Julian, it's next man up."

Two passes is a small sample. Fahey has not started a college game.

What the win bought

The Buckeyes are 6-1. Their loss was to Texas earlier this season. In this week's AP Top 25, Ohio State is No. 3 and Indiana is No. 5. Miami moved to No. 1 after a chaotic Saturday that also saw BYU beat Notre Dame, Auburn beat Georgia, Florida beat Texas, and Tennessee beat Alabama.

The argument for how much the injury matters splits along familiar lines. One view, laid out in Fox's college football coverage, is that Sayin's absence could "reshape the playoff picture," because Fahey is a true freshman with almost no game experience. A Fox Sports column took the other side of the ledger. It argued that Ohio State's win over a top-five team gives the Buckeyes a cushion, and that the College Football Playoff committee accounts for injuries. The columnist wrote that he learned this during the CFP's annual mock selection exercise.

Both can be true. A resume win is already banked. The remaining schedule is not soft.

The schedule

Ohio State is off next weekend. Then comes a road game at USC on Oct. 31, followed by home games against Oregon and Northwestern, which was ranked No. 25 going into the weekend. Nebraska is also on the slate.

The bye week gives Day and his staff time to adjust the offense around a younger quarterback. "We'll regroup," Day said. "When Luke's in there, we just may need to do things just a little bit differently, but the bye week gives us a chance to regroup on that and put our heads together."

The defense and the running game will have to carry more of the load. Smith's Heisman case also now depends on a freshman getting him the ball.

The open question is the timeline. "Several weeks" from Oct. 17 could cover USC, Oregon, Northwestern, or all three. Ohio State has not announced a diagnosis.