Does Luke Fahey Have History On His Side?

Ohio State is turning to a backup quarterback again — and history says that has worked out pretty well for the Buckeyes.

On this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr look back at Ohio State’s history with replacement quarterbacks since 2000 and ask what it could mean for Luke Fahey.

Going back to the start of the century, Ohio State is 23-2 in games started by a backup or replacement quarterback after the original starter was injured. That list includes Scott McMullen, Troy Smith, Kenny Guiton, J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Kyle McCord.

Tony and Tom discuss why those numbers are so strong, how much of that success came from favorable opponents, and why a backup quarterback can sometimes give an offense an unexpected advantage because opponents have not had time to prepare for a different style of play.

0:01 — Does Luke Fahey have history on his side?
0:25 — Ohio State’s remarkable record with backup quarterbacks
1:55 — The Buckeyes who stepped in and won
2:59 — How much did the schedule help those backups?
4:01 — Why the quarterback isn’t the whole story
5:51 — Can Ohio State still stockpile quarterback depth?
8:09 — How the transfer portal has changed backup QB situations
10:08 — Why backup quarterback is becoming more important
11:56 — What Luke Fahey can take from Ohio State’s history

The Buckeyes have repeatedly found ways to survive — and sometimes thrive — after losing their starting quarterback. J.T. Barrett went 11-1 after replacing Braxton Miller in 2014, and Cardale Jones famously went 3-0 after Barrett was injured, finishing the season with a national championship.

But Tony and Tom also explain why the modern transfer portal makes situations like those harder to recreate. Ohio State can no longer expect to keep experienced quarterbacks sitting behind the starter for three or four seasons, meaning today’s backups may be younger and considerably less experienced when they are suddenly called upon.

If Fahey becomes the starter, he would also be different from most of Ohio State’s previous replacement quarterbacks because he would be doing it as a true freshman. Still, he has already experienced being thrown into a difficult situation at Indiana, and now Ohio State would have time to build an offense around what he does best.

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