How Julian Sayin would fare in his first season as starting quarterback was among, if not, the biggest burning question for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the offseason – and the sophomore signal-caller has both answered the bell and caught the attention of head coach Ryan Day.
“I think each week, he’s grown more and more. He’s built confidence. I think his teammates believe in him now, and he probably had his best game to date at Wisconsin,” Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said about Sayin on Tuesday. “Now, he’s got to grow from that, continue to build. We’re just halfway through the season, so we got a lot of football left, but the No. 1 thing we got to do is continue to take care of the football, lead the team, command the game.
“We’re now going to get into the stretch run of the season and then obviously into playoff football. All of these games, all of these decisions, everything we’re doing is going to be ramped up and amped up at a higher level.”
Sayin has been terrific this season, with the first-year starter having totaled 1,872 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, three interceptions and a 189.7 passer rating, while completing a nation-high 80.0% of his passes. Sayin’s passer rating ranks second in the country among qualified passers.
As for his performance against Wisconsin last week, Sayin threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns, while posting a 195.7 passer rating and completing 85.7% of his passes (36 of 42) in a 34-0 Ohio State win.
The 7-0 Buckeyes are the No. 1 ranked team in the country, with two ranked wins on their resume against then-No. 1 Texas at home in Week 1 and now-No. 23 Illinois on the road in Week 7. Currently, Ohio State’s Week 14 matchup on the road against No. 25 Michigan is its last ranked matchup of the season.
Following a Week 9 bye, Ohio State hosts Penn State on Nov. 1 (12 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
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