The Ohio State Buckeyes’ 30-18 loss to USC coming out of the bye week was about as disappointing as it gets. Ohio State had two weeks to prepare for the Trojans and to move forward without Julian Sayin as its starting quarterback. Instead, the Buckeyes hurt themselves on multiple occasions in freshman Luke Fahey’s first start.

The loss was a sloppy one. Ohio State lost a fumble, committed 11 penalties, and dealt with red zone woes that kept it from walking away from Southern California with a win.

Ohio State was shorthanded against USC

Going into the game, Ohio State was a bit shorthanded, and players were going to need to step up. The Buckeyes were without wide receiver Brandon Inniss and freshman cornerback Jay Timmons.

There’s no doubt Timmons was the bigger loss. The Ohio State defense uncharacteristically struggled to stop USC’s passing attack, and players like Trent Mosley and Mark Bowman did major damage against the Buckeyes’ secondary.

Timmons returned for the Indiana game last week after missing the previous couple of games. He played well against the Hoosiers, finishing with seven tackles and a forced fumble. However, he re-aggravated the injury in that game.

Ryan Day explains the decision to hold out Jay Timmons

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day addressed the situation after the game against USC and gave an update on the freshman defender. 

“He probably could have played the week before,” Day said of Timmons for the Maryland game. “We held him off. We know what an impact he makes, and you know, in a game like this, a big game like this, we knew it was going to be important. But you know, he kind of retweaked it in the Indiana game. So he was trying like heck to get back. But it’s one of those injuries where you know you put him back out there, he just resets it again, and we start right back from zero again. 

“So he made some progress late in the week, but it wasn’t enough where our doctors and trainers felt like it was the right thing to do for him, so the decision was made to hold him.”

With Timmons out, Ohio State moved Jermaine Mathews Jr. from outside cornerback into the slot again to make up for the loss. That shuffle only went so far against a USC offense that found success through the air all game long.

The freshman is a player the Buckeyes’ defense missed. Timmons brings high energy, and he finds ways to make a play on the ball. Against a team like USC that was throwing with success, he would have been a valuable piece to have out there.

Buckeyes need Timmons back against Oregon

Now Ohio State has to hope that holding him out against USC does it some good down the road. The Buckeyes return home to Columbus to face Oregon in Week 10, and the Ducks present a similar challenge.

Oregon is another team that will want to use its athletes, get out in space, and make Ohio State’s defense pay. That puts even more importance on the Buckeyes’ secondary after what happened against the Trojans.

Day made it clear the staff didn’t want to reset the clock on Timmons’ recovery by rushing him back. Whether the extra week of rest has him ready for Oregon remains to be seen. Still, Ohio State’s defense needs the freshman back badly to help them bounce back from a frustrating trip to Southern California.