Another top-2 team goes down as Ohio State can't overcome Julian Sayin's absence

For the fourth week in a row, one of the top-two teams in the country has lost.

On Saturday, it was No. 2-ranked Ohio State, dropping a 30-18 decision at USC for its second loss of the season. 

Ohio State has now lost as the No. 1 team in the country (as it did in Week 2 at Texas) and the No. 2 team in the country. 

Ohio State can't overcome Julian Sayin's absence in ugly loss at USC

Even though Ohio State entered Saturday's game as one of the top-ranked teams in the country, this was always going to be a big test for the Buckeyes given the absence of its starting quarterback. But even without Sayin in the lineup, there should have been some reasonably high expectations given how good the rest of the Ohio State is supposed to be.

It might very well prove to be that good over the next month, but they did not play like it on Saturday. 

The Buckeyes could not tackle, could not stop Lincoln Riley's offense, lost a fumble and consistently struggled to make enough plays against a perpetually disappointing USC squad.

Backup quarterback Luke Fahey completed 18-of-30 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown, but there just wasn't enough in the way of big plays. Nothing illustrated that more than the fact that standout wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught 10 passes, but averaged just 8.3 yards per catch. He entered Saturday's game averaging 18.9 yards per catch on the season, and had not had a single game where he averaged under 17 yards per catch. 

As far as the USC side is concerned, this could be something that turns the tide back in Riley's favor.

His seat has been getting increasingly hot, and it seemed to reach a boiling point after last week's ugly loss at Wisconsin.

Even though Saturday's win comes with the obvious "yeah, but..." of playing against a backup quarterback, it is still a win over a top-two team that it was expected to lose to. There is still a long way to go for Riley to be back on solid footing, but it is a step. A needed step.