Ohio State outgains USC by 126 yards, kicks four field goals and loses by 12

No. 2 Ohio State had the ball for 39 minutes and 28 seconds at the Coliseum on Saturday night, gained 464 yards to USC's 338, and lost 30-18. That's the whole story of the Buckeyes' night, and it is not a good one.

Caleb Hawkins kicked field goals of 39, 34, 23 and 47 yards. Ohio State scored one touchdown, a 1-yard throw to Jeremiah Smith with 2:12 left that came with the game already gone at 27-12, and then the two-point try failed. The last drive of the night ended on downs at the USC goal line with 36 seconds to go.

Luke Fahey, the true freshman starting for the injured Julian Sayin, wasn't the problem by himself. He went 21 of 38 for 260 yards, threw a touchdown and no interceptions. Bo Jackson ran for 121 yards. The issue was what happened when the field got short. Ohio State committed 11 penalties for 71 yards, fumbled at the USC 32 midway through the third quarter when Desman Stephens II stripped Isaiah West, and kept trading touchdown chances for three points.

USC, meanwhile, needed one throw to get going. Jayden Maiava hit Trent Mosley for a 69-yard touchdown 39 seconds into the game, and the Trojans led the rest of the way. Maiava threw just 22 passes and completed 15 for 222 yards. Mark Bowman's 70-yard catch set up King Miller's touchdown for a 27-9 lead in the third quarter.

Smith's touchdown did give him the Big Ten record for career receiving touchdowns, according to Ohio State and Big Ten Network, and he caught 10 passes. It is a strange night when that is the best thing a team takes home.

Ohio State is 6-2. With two losses, the Buckeyes have little room left in the College Football Playoff race, and the quarterback question doesn't go away until Sayin is cleared. USC is 7-2 a week after scoring seven points at Wisconsin.

What's next: Watch Ohio State's injury update on Sayin this week. A healthy Sayin changes the Buckeyes' ceiling more than any scheme fix does.