LOS ANGELES — Luke Fahey walked down Ohio State’s sideline during a media timeout with 6:11 left in the third quarter and the Buckeyes trailing by three touchdowns. Players patted him on his helmet as the freshman quarterback made his way toward a group of offensive linemen. Fahey offered them some words of encouragement before the group took the field.
That drive ended when Fahey was sacked trying to extend a play on third down, forcing OSU to kick a 46-yard field goal when the Buckeyes desperately needed a touchdown.
Fahey, the fifth true freshman quarterback in program history to start a game for Ohio State, did not play well enough to elevate his team to a win in Saturday's loss. If it was going to come down to a true freshman carrying the Buckeyes on a rainy night in L.A., things were doomed from the start. Since Julian Sayin was injured two weeks ago against Indiana, head coach Ryan Day has talked incessantly about the necessity for everyone else in the program to lift up “our young quarterback,” being intentionally vague about who that player would be even though every sign along the way hinted at Fahey getting the nod over Tavien St. Clair.
Nobody lifted up Fahey on Saturday. It shouldn’t be surprising that he wasn’t ready to lift the team.