The Ohio State Buckeyes are struggling to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive as they prepare to host Oregon in a key Big Ten game Saturday.
The Buckeyes (6-2) dropped their second game of the season last week against USC, struggling to move the ball on offense throughout the game in the 30-18 defeat. It was Ohio State's first game started by backup quarterback Luke Fahey after the elbow injury suffered by QB1 Julian Sayin during the October 17 victory over Indiana.
Sayin reported suffered an elbow fracture, according to reporting by Ohio State beat reporter Bill Rabinowitz. Prior to this report, which Ohio State head coach Ryan Day neither confirmed nor denied, the team had merely referred to the issue as an elbow injury.
Day provided a vague estimate on the time Sayin will need to recover from the injury. “It will take some time, but I think certainly for the long term, we feel like we're on a good track here,” Day said.
The Buckeyes ranked 11th in the CFP rankings that was released earlier this week. Ohio State lost an early-season game to the Texas Longhorns in addition to last week's game against the Trojans. They were considered one of the elite teams in the nation at the start of the college football season, but now they will be forced to scramble to make it into their spot in the postseason.
After hosting the Ducks, Ohio State will face Northwestern at home, Nebraska on the road before closing the regular season at home against archrival Michigan.