Coming off a crushing 30-18 loss against USC on Saturday, Ryan Day has a lot of tough decisions to make going forward if he wants his team to still have a chance at the college football playoffs.

The biggest one being once again: who will be his QB1?

With Sayin still looking like he will be out for the rest of the season, Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair will be the two guys that Ryan Day will look to step up. We got our first full look at the freshman, Luke Fahey, in the loss to USC.

You cannot put the full blame on Fahey; he did all that he could, being thrown into a big road contest for his first start. He also ended up playing the most snaps of any OSU quarterback in the last five years by playing all 85 snaps for the Buckeyes' offense.

USC STUNS NO. 2 OHIO STATE IN LA✌️https://t.co/AEFH9WKPIS pic.twitter.com/5jCCYLwFPY

— On3 (@On3) November 1, 2026

The defense also did not give Fahey much support on the other side of the football. They struggled to get stops and forced the offense to play from behind since the jump.

So what do both quarterbacks offer Day and the Buckeyes?

Luke Fahey

We have seen the most out of Fahey since he got the start against the Trojans. In that game he wasn't the most efficient going 21/38 in the air with 260 yards and one touchdown. That touchdown also happened to be the one that helped Jeremiah Smith break the Big Ten touchdown record, which has felt like it has been very overlooked because of the loss.

He is a lot more moblie than Sayin was as well. That dual-threat archetype has thrived in the Ohio State offense with guys like Justin Fields and Braxton Miller who were huge successes at the helm for the Buckeyes.

All of that on top of having some very top-end arm talent as well. Fahey provides you both aspects of the game, he just really lacks the experience.

Tavien St. Clair

It is hard to get the full picture on St. Clair since he has seen no action in a Buckeye uniform.

He is five-for-nine on his career with a touchdown and an interception to his name. That's it. So can he really offer the Buckeyes anything?

There is definetley a world where St. Clair can burst onto the scene down the stretch of the season. He was viewed so highly coming out of high school and Buckeye fans saw him as the next big quarterback to wear scarlet and grey.

That has just not been the case.

He sat behind Sayin all of last season and the would get beat out by Fahey in training camp and fall all the way down to the third string quarterback. Now he has an ultimate opportunity to try and make a splash.

He has so much unknown potential, he just has to unleash it and prove he is the guy for Day and the Buckeyes.

Another big matchup looms for the Buckeyes on Nov. 7 when they host the Oregon Ducks. The question now is, will Fahey still be the starter or will St.. Clair finally earn his chance to make a name for himself?