Nine months ago, Julian Sayin sat alongside Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City.
The Ohio State Buckeyes' quarterback finished in fourth place as Mendoza, the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, brought home the vaunted stiff-arming statue. The week before, the Buckeyes had been beaten by the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Things haven't been smooth sailing for Sayin since, despite having the best receiver in college football, Jeremiah Smith, at his disposal. A College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Miami killed Ohio State's bid to repeat as national champions, and also served as cause for concern entering the offseason.
Now, after handling Ball State in their season opener, the Buckeyes coughed up a 23-3 lead in a marquee matchup on the road against the Texas Longhorns, dropping Ohio State from No. 1 to No. 6 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Sayin finished 17-of-32 for 278 yards, a touchdown and an interception, but Ohio State was held scoreless for the final 23:09 of the defeat, allowing Arch Manning and the Longhorns to claw their way back into it.
Maybe more telling, Smith didn't have reception in the entire fourth quarter
According to On Texas Football's CJ Vogel, Sayin has thrown for 274.3 yards per game, three touchdowns and four interceptions in the last three Ohio State losses combined. He's also lost 78 yards on the ground and been sacked 12 times. The most concerning figure, though, is that the Buckeyes have averaged 15.6 points per game.
Ohio State has lost 3 of its last 4 games dating back to 2025.
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) September 14, 2026
QB Julian Sayin in those games:
• 274.3 yards per game
• 62.5% completion (60/96)
• 3 TD
• 4 INT
• -78 rushing yards with 12 sacks
Ohio State offense has averaged 15.6 points per game.
After the demoralizing collapse, Sayin shouldered the blame.
"We didn't execute the way we can, the way we need to in the fourth quarter there," Sayin said, per Cleveland.com. "It starts with me."
What was the reaction to Julian Sayin's performance?
National radio personality Colin Cowherd doesn't see Sayin joining other former Ohio State signal-callers — such as the Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud and Pittsburgh Steelers' Will Howard — on the next level.
"I don't think Julian Sayin's a Sunday player. I don't," Cowherd said Monday on his namesake podcast. "I think he's a good college quarterback."
Cowherd's guest on the show, former NFL scout John Middlekauff, doesn't believe that Sayin needs to play incredible, saying he only has to be a game manager with the offensive weapons surrounding him.
Of course, if Connor Hawkins connects on his 45-yard field goal try — which would've made it 26-17 and put it out of reach for the hosts — the criticisms of Sayin wouldn't be swirling quite as much. Steve Sarkisian's defense decided to finally pay attention to Smith — who will almost certainly be a top-3 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft — after he put up 110 receiving yards and a touchdown in the first half.
Behind Sayin, the Buckeyes have redshirt freshman Tavien St. Clair, a five-star recruit in the 2025 class. St. Clair has only thrown eight passes in game action, which would make it hard for Ryan Day to just give him the reins, especially for a team with high aspirations and a smaller margin for error.
Still, Sayin can ill afford any poor performances.
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