Ohio State faces a major test without Julian Sayin

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin has been ruled out indefinitely. Ryan Day announced the news Tuesday.

Sayin sustained the injury Saturday in the 19-15 win over No. 6 Indiana after a hit from Mario Landino. Landino came from around the edge and delivered a killing blow to Sayin's throwing shoulder.

True freshman Luke Fahey took over after Sayin's injury and went 0-for-2. Tavien St. Clair Jr. and Fahey will both get first-team reps in practice.

There's no doubt Sayin is the guy at quarterback, and head coach Ryan Day understands how important he is to the offense.

"This is all bigger than just one person," Day said post-game. "Certainly we don't want to see him get hurt, and we need him. At the same time, we'll come together and figure this out. We've got a good team. When Luke's in there, we just may need to do things just a little bit differently, but the bye week gives us a chance to regroup on that and put our heads together."

Sayin has 2,007 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, completes 68.2% of his passes this year, and was back in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Before exiting the game against Indiana, Sayin had two touchdown passes and boosted the Buckeyes' lead to 12.

Sayin has no return date, but the Buckeyes are preparing for the rest of the season and playoffs without him, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Ohio State still has five games remaining on the schedule and faces 16th-ranked USC, a new and improved 24th-ranked Northwestern, and The Game against Michigan.

The Buckeyes head into a bye week before deciding their next steps without Sayin, as they face USC on Saturday, October 31 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC).