BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ohio State came within 8 inches of missing the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Ohio State came within 8 inches of missing the 12-team College Football Playoff.
That’s one way to look at it. And not unfairly. If Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh moves his left foot 8 inches to the right – from out of bounds to inbounds on what would have been the winning touchdown catch with 1:02 left – the Buckeyes likely would have two losses and face an uncertain future without quarterback Julian Sayin, whose fourth-quarter injury was severe enough to likely sideline him for a while.
“Julian will probably be out for several weeks, so we’ll have to come up with a plan there,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said after the Buckeyes’ anxiety-inducing
19-15 win over previously unbeaten Indiana Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium.
Without Sayin, who left for the locker room after getting sacked with 7:38 remaining – the junior returned minutes later with his throwing arm in a sling – Ohio State faces a more daunting road to the postseason, beginning with a suddenly scarier visit to USC on Halloween followed by a home game against Oregon.
I’m not saying the Buckeyes can’t win both games without Sayin, who fortunately for OSU gets the upcoming bye week as an added “free” week to heal, but the odds just grew slimmer. Ohio State, 6-1, can afford another loss, but not two.
Optimistic OSU fans will clap back by saying that Sayin’s backup, Luke Fahey, is capable of leading the Buckeyes to wins over the Trojans and Ducks, and possibly over Northwestern and Nebraska, if Sayin is out longer than expected.
I’m not so sure. Granted, Fahey was thrust into a difficult situation against the Hoosiers, and it was a small sample size, but you were watching a different game than I was if you think the true freshman delivered a capable performance out of the bullpen. He was 0-for-2 passing and his only highlight was getting hit late after scrambling for 8 yards, a mistake that resulted in a personal foul penalty against Indiana (6-1), which saw its 22-game winning streak snapped.
'A tough spot for him to come into'
"A tough spot for him to come into,” Day said of Fahey. “I think it was moving fast for him. We were trying to find some things to kind of calm him down a little bit. … He’s got confidence. He’s got athletic ability. He’s a competitive kid, so I didn’t think the moment was too big for him. If he had had a few more drives I think he would have found the speed of the game.”
But nobody knows for sure, and that’s the issue. Sayin was having a shaky game before the injury. He finished 15 of 29 passing for 235 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. But compared to Fahey he looked like Tom Brady.
Even as I type Fahey’s name I can hear Buckeye Nation wagging a disapproving finger: But, but, but … our improving defense has a chance to become elite, which will help our temporary QB.
Valid. But, again, the Hoosiers came within 8 inches of winning the game, which had it happened would have silenced any defensive attaboys. Instead, there would be more hand-wringing about the defense unable to get a stop at the most critical time. Again.
Even Day stated the obvious: “Our guys never flinched. Now listen, if [Marsh] catches the ball in the corner of the end zone and his foot is a yard in, we’re all sitting here in a different spot.”
Breaks go Ohio State's way against Indiana
But Marsh’s foot wasn’t in. And that’s the bottom line. It is easy to doom-and-gloom Sayin’s performance and injury. It’s natural to point out how badly OSU defensive back Cam Calhoun got beat on the Marsh “almost” touchdown, or badmouth this, or eye-roll that. Fair enough. The criticism is warranted, but there is one big reason Day was so buoyant afterward. Despite losing his starting quarterback, his team won. And did so with the breaks finally going OSU’s way. This time it was Indiana, not Ohio State, that doinked a field goal attempt off the upright. It was IU committing dumb penalties. It was a cleated shoe landing 8 inches in the Buckeyes’ favor.
“When you think about the Texas game, I can name about seven things where it came down to one play,” Day said, recalling the OSU collapse that resulted in a 24-23 loss to the Longhorns. “[This time] we were able to find a way to win.”
They’ll need to keep finding ways, especially with Sayin sidelined. Also, who knows how he’ll respond once he returns? But Day wasn’t about to paint dark clouds onto what for the Buckeyes ended up being a clear, cerulean autumn sky.
“When someone goes down, someone has to step up,” Day said. “The quarterback position obviously is different, but we’ll regroup. We’ve got a bye week to figure that out. We have a good team, and this is bigger than just one person. Certainly, we don’t want to see [Sayin] get hurt, and we need him, but at the same time we’ll come together and figure this out.”
He paused.
“It’s always an opportunity. What an unbelievable opportunity [for Fahey] to come and lead this team with these types of players, throwing the ball to Jeremiah Smith and Devin McCuin and Chris Henry, and having Bo Jackson and this offensive line and with the defense coming together like this? This is the stuff that stories are made of."
Not every story has a happy ending, of course. And it’s hard to see Ohio State overcoming Sayin’s injury without experiencing some serious fallout. But don’t tell that to Day and the Buckeyes. They may have avoided a second loss by inches, but for them it sure felt like a mile.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State escaped Indiana by inches, but Julian Sayin injury changes a lot
