Ryan Day has made his decision. It will be former Alabama transfer quarterback Julian Sayin leading the Ohio State Buckeyes out of the tunnel Week 1 vs. the visiting Texas Longhorns. Sayin beat out longtime backup Lincoln Kienholz and promising true freshman Tavien St. Clair for the starting job. Sayin was every bit the blue-chip coming out of high school, but we have not seen him play much.
In the end, this was probably the right call for Day to make. Kienholz may be more ready for the opportunity now, but Sayin has the far higher ceiling. St. Clair was too green coming out of high school to win the starting job anyway. What this decision has inadvertently done is put even more pressure on Texas' first-year starting quarterback Arch Manning to play at a high level during Week 1.
While Manning has not had a lot of starting experience, he has way more in-game experience than Sayin. Should he struggle vs. the reigning national champions at their house of worship, that could be problematic for those hopping aboard the Texas hype train. In fact, I would argue there still would be time to jump off the moving locomotive and get back to the platform before Sayin leaves the station.
With Texas being ranked ahead of Ohio State in both polls of note, all eyes are on the Longhorns here.
NEWS: Ohio State has named Julian Sayin its starting quarterback🌰https://t.co/ly5cTz0apb pic.twitter.com/Zp5ie8VVkR
— On3 (@On3sports) August 18, 2025
Keep in mind Ohio State ended Texas' season in the Cotton Bowl last year in the national semifinals.
Julian Sayin has a chance to make the narrative flip on Arch Manning
At this time, I have Ohio State and Texas as two of seven locks to make the College Football Playoff. Of those seven teams, five of them can win a national championship, including the Buckeyes and the Longhorns. That being said, Ohio State has the much easier path toward getting the No. 1 seed than does Texas. The Longhorns will have to play Ohio State, Georgia and Florida all on the road this year.
For Manning to have Texas in the playoff picture, he has to lead the Longhorns to victory in one of those three tough road games. He and Texas can afford two losses, but I am not sure that even a 9-3 team Texas would merit inclusion in a 12-team playoff field. As for Ohio State, if the Buckeyes were to get this win over Texas with Sayin under center, they would have a shot at winning all of their games.
Ultimately, this is why I have been unwilling to crown Manning just yet. If Sayin was entering this season with an absurd amount of hype as well, I would have pumped the brakes on him, too. Instead, he had to battle Kienholz and St. Clair for the starting job all summer long. Frankly, I think Day knew he was the right guy to lead Ohio State all along, but he did not want Kienholz to transfer after the spring.
We are looking at a Week 1 game for the ages, as Manning or Sayin's stock is going to rise greatly.