Major USC takeaways from Ohio State's close win over Indiana

Ohio State defeated Indiana on Saturday, 19-15, in a predictably defense-first battle. What should USC football fans gain from seeing the Buckeyes narrowly beat the Hoosiers?

The number one story to come out of the Ohio State-Indiana game is that Julian Sayin, the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, won’t face the Trojans. He is expected to miss several weeks. Sayin is not that good, but backup Luke Fahey filled in for Sayin after the latter got injured and did not look remotely ready. This is a clear downgrade for Ohio State at quarterback. The Buckeyes will have to resort to a short passing game and a lot of runs. Their ability to stretch the field is now a lot more limited.

The Ohio State superstar is still a threat, but with Luke Fahey throwing him the ball and not Julian Sayin, he might not be able to have as much of an impact on the game and the USC secondary. Ohio State will still try the “throw it to No. 4 and see if he can go get the ball” play, but it won’t be as easy with Fahey as it would have been with Sayin.

Ohio State held Indiana to essentially eight points. The Hoosiers got seven points off a takeaway which gave them a drive start at the Buckeyes’ 7-yard line. However, Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover struggled. Ohio State’s defense can contain mediocre quarterbacks, but it hasn’t played a quarterback as good as Jayden Maiava.

Jayden Maiava was already better than Julian Sayin. He is better than Luke Fahey and Josh Hoover. Can USC make this quarterback advantage count against the Buckeyes and Hoosiers?

Ohio State and Indiana have high-quality defensive lines. This is where USC has to be able to stand tall. If the Trojans’ offensive line plays well, the Men of Troy have a real shot against Ohio State and Indiana.

Ohio State and Indiana have the defensive lines and the overall defensive acumen needed to win championships, but not the quarterback. USC has the quarterback but not the defensive line or the defense. If you put these teams’ best units together, you’d have a championship team. Ohio State and Indiana are missing half of the formula. So is USC, but on the other side of the ball.

If these Ohio State-USC and USC-Indiana games are played in the 30s, USC has to like its chances. If these games are low-scoring slugfests in which the USC offense is held down, the Trojans will be in worse shape. If the USC offense can max out in these two games, the QB deficiencies for Ohio State and Indiana will give Lincoln Riley’s team a real chance to win.

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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Major USC takeaways from Ohio State’s close win over Indiana