Ryan Day took a gamble on Luke Fahey when Julian Sayin went down, choosing the freshman over Tavien St. Clair to lead Ohio State against USC. It was a huge opportunity for Fahey, but his first career start ended with a 30-18 loss on the road. With the Buckeyes now facing uncomfortable questions about their quarterback room, Shannon Sharpe has offered his verdict, and he isn’t holding back.

While speaking on The Nightcap, Chad Johnson suggested that Ohio State’s decision to play its backup quarterback may have contributed to the loss to USC. However, he made it clear that wearing the Buckeyes jersey comes with expectations, regardless of who starts, insisting that a player must perform like an “Elite backup quarterback.”

Shannon Sharpe, however, dismissed Johnson’s argument, insisting that even if Fahey were an elite quarterback, he would still be a backup QB, and that changes nothing.

“Well, he’s a backup for a reason. I mean, you can’t expect all those weapons. Well, if he was that good, he’d have been starting. You don’t look; the backup is a backup for a reason. There are very few times that the backup is actually better than the guy that’s starting. That’s why he’s the backup,” said Sharpe.

These comments come after Luke Fahey looked clueless against the USC Trojans on the road in his first career start. The Buckeyes struggled to replace Julian Sayin as they fell 30-18 to the Trojans. In fact, one could argue this was Ohio State’s worst offensive performance of the season. Fahey finished 21-of-38 for 260 yards and a touchdown.

Throughout the entire game, Fahey looked uncomfortable under pressure. He took too long to process his reads and struggled to find his receivers consistently. His mobility offered little relief, either, as he was sacked twice and gained very little on his rushing attempts. That wasn’t all.

Even when he had time to make his throws, several passes sailed off target, leaving his receivers with little opportunity to make a catch. His frustration was evident, too, with the quarterback repeatedly seen standing with his hands on his hips or resting them on his head after failed plays.

With Luke Fahey making his first career start, one of Ohio State’s biggest game-plan priorities was to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith and let the star receiver take over. However, USC’s defence had other plans, keeping the talented wideout under wraps for most of the night.

Smith finished with 10 receptions for 83 yards, but those numbers hardly told the full story. In fact, 36 of those yards came in the fourth quarter, when Ohio State was already trailing by a considerable margin and desperately searching for a way back into the game.

With Ohio State struggling to replace Julian Sayin, questions emerged over whether Luke Fahey’s struggles could hurt the Buckeyes’ season. However, Ryan Day refused to put the blame solely on his freshman quarterback, taking responsibility himself.

“I think for Luke, he competed. It wasn’t perfect, but we had some big, huge drops, and we weren’t able to help him out there,” Day said.

“We weren’t able — to me — to play well enough to support a young freshman quarterback who has had his first start on the road,” he later added.

Ryan Day believed there were “just way too many mistakes” in Ohio State’s performance, and the penalty count certainly backed up his assessment. The Buckeyes had already committed six penalties for 49 yards by halftime.

By the final whistle, that number had climbed to 11 penalties for 71 yards, highlighting the team’s lack of discipline throughout the contest.

However, that doesn’t mean Ohio State are free of quarterback concerns. Both Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair lack the experience needed to lead the team, and with Julian Sayin expected to miss most of the regular season, another defeat could push the Buckeyes from 6-2 to 6-3, putting their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. What changes will Ryan Day make to address the situation? That remains to be seen.