Ohio State's national title hopes are rightfully fading after USC delivers reality check in shocking upset

A costly loss to USC

Ohio State’s 30-18 defeat came in Los Angeles on Saturday night. The Buckeyes did not reach the end zone until late in the fourth quarter. The loss raised doubts about whether the offense can support a national title bid. The Big Ten’s hopes were described as resting on Ohio State’s ability to build a championship-level offense.

Quarterback plans disrupted

Starting quarterback Julian Sayin suffered an elbow injury during the game against Indiana two weeks earlier. The article says Ohio State’s season then depended on Luke Fahey and freshman Taven St. Clair at quarterback.

Ryan Day had built offensive hopes around the connection between Sayin and Jeremiah Smith. That pairing gave opposing defenses a difficult choice over whether to double-team Smith.

Yards without enough scoring

Ohio State recorded 484 yards of total offense against USC, but struggled to turn that production into points. The Buckeyes could not score a touchdown until the fourth quarter was nearly over.

The offensive line had difficulty protecting Fahey, and the team did not capitalize in the red zone. Those problems limited the value of the offense’s yardage in the upset loss.