BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Ohio State offensive lineman Luke Montgomery got into the huddle with 7:38 left in the fourth quarter, with his team leading Indiana by four points. It was second-and-28 from the Buckeyes’ 44-yard line, and Montgomery was staring into the eyes of 5-foot-11 true freshman quarterback Luke Fahey.
What did he see?
“Just a baller,” Montgomery said.
On the next snap, Fahey felt pressure, climbed the pocket, scrambled for eight yards, and then took a late hit from a defender at the end of the play, tacking on another 15 yards and moving the ball to the Indiana 33. It felt like the start of something — maybe something magical — with this kid in the game for the injured Julian Sayin and OSU trying to close out a top-five win on the road.
And then … the Buckeyes ran it twice for two yards combined, took a holding penalty on third down, and put Fahey into a third-and-forever that ended with him skipping a throw along the turf to Brandon Inniss, forcing OSU to punt back to Indiana. The “origin story” moment was fleeting. Fahey played 10 snaps in relief of the injured Sayin, went 0-for-2 on his official pass attempts, including a misfire on a screen that hit the back of an offensive lineman’s helmet. He took an intentional grounding penalty.
Ohio State won. Fahey held on for dear life more than he led a triumphant moment in a key win.
“As you can imagine, it’s a tough spot for him to come into,” head coach Ryan Day said afterward. “I think it was moving fast for him there.”
Fahey will get another shot at it.
Sayin will be down for “several weeks” with an injury to his right throwing arm. He left in the fourth quarter after getting hit while trying to throw. He went to the locker room and later returned with his arm in a sling. The Buckeyes are off next week and then head on the road to USC. Fahey, a SoCal kid from Mission Viejo, is expected to make his first career start back closer to home.
“I don’t think the moment is too big for him,” Day said. “It just got a little fast for him (Saturday). If he had a few more drives, I think he would’ve found the speed of the game.”