Misery Index: Ohio State fans have reason to panic after stunning loss at USC

Key Points:

• Ohio State's football season has been derailed by a serious injury to quarterback Julian Sayin, exposing underlying team weaknesses and diminishing their College Football Playoff prospects with freshman Luke Fahey struggling at quarterback.
• Despite a 6-2 record, Ohio State's recent 30-18 loss to USC highlighted offensive struggles and defensive breakdowns, casting doubt on their ability to win upcoming key games against Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan without Sayin's return.
• Other college football programs are also facing challenges: Virginia is underperforming in the ACC, Cincinnati is disappointing in the Big 12, Oklahoma's decision to extend coach Brent Venables' contract is controversial amid poor results in the SEC, and Washington State struggles amid conference realignment issues.
• Several coaches, including Minnesota's P.J. Fleck, Florida's Jon Sumrall, Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby, and Nebraska's Matt Rhule, are dealing with tough losses and inconsistent team performances, raising questions about their ability to turn their programs around.
• Notre Dame's playoff hopes are weakened by a downgraded schedule after losses by key opponents, while Boston College suffered a historically poor 47-2 loss to Duke, scoring only via a blocked extra point return, marking a rare and embarrassing outcome in college football.