ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis is siding with No. 2 Ohio State in its Halloween night trip to USC, even with a true freshman quarterback likely making his first career start against coach Lincoln Riley’s Trojans.

Davis made his pick on the College GameDay Podcast, betting star receiver Jeremiah Smith helps Ohio State end a regular-season drought at the Coliseum that dates to 1946. “I’ll take the Buckeyes,” Davis said after USC’s 24-7 loss at Wisconsin pushed him off the Trojans’ bandwagon.

Rece Davis picks Ohio State at USC

Davis isn’t sold on the 6-1 Buckeyes yet. “Ohio State comes in ranked second in the nation and, at least to my way of thinking, a bit of a placeholder until I see what they’ve got at quarterback,” he said.

He does like the setup for true freshman Luke Fahey, whose paternal grandparents met as students at Ohio State.

“Fahey is a Southern California kid. I believe his grandparents actually met at Ohio State. So there’s a connection,” Davis said. “He gets to make his first start in his backyard, figuratively, from where he grew up. I think he’ll be fine.”

The Buckeyes haven’t won a regular-season game at USC since a 21-0 shutout in 1946 and haven’t scored a touchdown at the Coliseum since 1949, losing their last four visits there by a combined 126-9. Davis is counting on Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy contender at receiver to fix that. “I’ll bet you that changes with Jeremiah Smith,” he said.

Who replaces Julian Sayin at quarterback?

Julian Sayin, Ohio State’s starting quarterback, hurt his throwing arm in a 19-15 win over Indiana on Oct. 17 and is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. Head coach Ryan Day hasn’t named a starter, with Fahey and former five-star recruit Tavien St. Clair both taking first-team reps during the bye week.

“I’m not going to,” Day said Wednesday when asked if he’d name a starting quarterback. “But both guys had a good week of practice and I think both will be ready to play.”

Day also said it’s “definitely possible” both quarterbacks play. Fahey replaced Sayin against Indiana, but Ohio State played conservatively with a late lead and both of his pass attempts fell incomplete.

Lincoln Riley faces pressure at USC

Davis had backed USC as an offense that could score before the Trojans managed one touchdown in Madison. “I know Wisconsin’s good, but seven? I mean, fewest ever for Lincoln Riley. I’m off the bandwagon,” he said.

USC (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) fell out of the AP Top 25 after finishing with minus-17 rushing yards against the Badgers.

Riley, who is 41-20 at USC and carries a reported $70 million buyout, addressed his future Tuesday. “This is where I want to be. This is the right place for me. I’m the right person to be here,” he said.

Davis expects a lopsided result to add to that conversation, though he cautioned USC against a quick change.

“Ohio State goes in there and rolls and creates even more discussion around the future of USC,” Davis said. “Although, be very careful. You don’t know that you’re going to get someone that’s better. It’s not like Lincoln Riley’s a bad coach. It just hasn’t been quite to the level that they’ve expected up to this point.”

Kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is set for 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC.