Ohio State sticks with freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback for Saturday's game against Oregon

Luke Fahey will start again for Ohio State. Ryan Day said Tuesday that the true freshman stays at quarterback when the Buckeyes host Oregon on Saturday, according to ESPN and Yahoo Sports.

"There's things to build on there for sure," Day said. "But we've got to do a better job around him, helping him out as a young player."

The first start

Fahey made his first career start in Saturday's 30-18 loss at USC. He went 21 of 38 for 260 yards with a touchdown to Jeremiah Smith and no interceptions. Yahoo Sports pointed out that much of that came late, with Ohio State down by more than one score. He had 134 passing yards before the Buckeyes' last two drives.

Day didn't put the loss on him. "We all got to help this guy out, and I don't think we did," he said, per 10TV. "There were some missed throws, but we expected all that to happen. He also made a lot of plays. He also had command of the huddle. He also showed some grit out there and toughness."

He was harder on everyone else. Ohio State committed 11 penalties at USC, its first game with 10 or more since Oct. 7, 2023, and Day called the penalties and mistakes "ridiculous," Yahoo reported.

Why Fahey

Julian Sayin, a Heisman finalist last season, hurt his throwing arm at Indiana on Oct. 17 and is out indefinitely. Fahey beat out sophomore Tavien St. Clair for the backup job in camp, and Day named him the starter after giving both first-team snaps during the bye week, per ESPN.

The Buckeyes are 6-2 and 4-1 in the Big Ten, and Day admitted the margin for error is "tiny" with two losses. "When we lost Julian, the expectations here didn't change," he said.

The game

Oregon at Ohio State kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on CBS. Ohio State leads the all-time series 10-2, according to 10TV.