Julian Sayin Injury Update, Latest Updates from OSU's Ryan Day on QB's Timeline, Status for Playoff

Ohio State may be without quarterback Julian Sayin for the rest of the season, including any potential College Football Playoff run.

"We're not gonna put any timeline for his injury, but he is out indefinitely," head coach Ryan Day told reporters Tuesday when discussing the injury the quarterback suffered during Saturday's win over Indiana.

Day also revealed the Buckeyes are coming up with a plan in case Sayin does not return for the regular season or postseason while adding it is "doubtful" he will return before the end of the regular season on Nov. 28.

This is a devastating blow to Ohio State's chances at reaching the CFP and competing for a national championship.

Sayin was a Heisman Trophy finalist last season while completing 77 percent of his passes for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season, although they lost the Big Ten championship game to Indiana and in the CFP to Miami.

He entered the 2026 campaign with NFL draft hype as a presumed Heisman candidate and completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 2,007 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions prior to the injury.

Ohio State Buckeyes - Indiana Hoosiers Highlights

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The question now is what is next for Ohio State.

Luke Fahey entered Saturday's contest against the Hoosiers but threw incompletions on his two pass attempts and wasn't asked to do much as the visitors relied on their defense to clinch the win.

He is a true freshman and was a 3-star prospect, per 247Sports' composite rankings. By comparison, Tavien St. Clair has been on campus since the 2025 season and was a 5-star recruit in that year's class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Fahey may have gotten the call Saturday, but that doesn't mean he will automatically be the long-term starter moving forward now that the situation has changed with Sayin potentially out for the rest of the season.

"Going into the last few games, Luke's been ahead of Tavien in terms of what we've seen, but now that we have a bye week, these guys are both gonna get a lot of reps, and we're gonna start to put together a plan on how we're gonna move forward," Day told reporters. "We're gonna play the guy that gives us the best chance to win."

He continued and said both quarterbacks will get first-team reps.

"We need both guys to practice really well and prepare and understand that we're gonna need them to win a championship," Day said.

It will be anything but easy, as Ohio State still has challenging road games against USC and Nebraska remaining, as well as home games against Oregon, Michigan and Northwestern. It also has a loss to Texas, so there is less room for error than there would be if it was undefeated.

The silver lining for the Buckeyes is whichever quarterback wins the job will still have Jeremiah Smith on the receiving end of passes. But it remains to be seen if that is enough to overcome this significant loss.