Ohio State’s theoretical case for a top-10 ranking has crumbled under the weight of a critical personnel gap, prompting AP Top 25 voter Greg Luca to exclude the Buckeyes from his ballot. Despite holding wins over No. 6 Indiana and No. 21 Iowa, and suffering only narrow defeats to No. 18 USC and No. 10 Texas, the program’s standing has been derailed by the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Julian Sayin. The loss of a proven starter has created a void that no amount of offensive line protection or receiver talent can fully compensate for, effectively capping the team’s ceiling in the current landscape.
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The 2026 season has highlighted an unintended consequence of the transfer portal era: the scarcity of high-quality backup quarterbacks at powerhouse programs. With the top 138 FBS jobs typically filled by the most talented available players, the depth chart at elite schools has become thinner than ever before. This structural weakness means that when a starter goes down, the replacement often lacks the experience and polish required to maintain elite performance. For Ohio State, this meant relying on freshman first-time starter Luke Fahey, a situation that exposed the fragility of their roster construction.
Fahey’s performance against USC illustrated the high stakes of this depth issue. While the freshman showed flashes of promise, he struggled significantly during a late-game rally, missing key throws and failing to locate open targets when the Buckeyes needed a decisive scoring drive. The 30-18 loss to USC served as a stark reminder that in the current NFL-style talent distribution model, a single injury can dismantle a contender’s season. Luca’s ballot reflects a broader trend where quarterback availability is now the single most decisive factor in separating top-tier teams from the rest of the field.
Source: Yahoo Sports
