Ryan Day came out of Ohio State’s win against Texas sounding like he may have one regret with Julian Sayin
Ohio State wasn’t surprised with what their QB did, though there is more to be had.
Heading into the Week 1 matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns, most of the quarterback hype centered around Arch Manning. Though neither quarterback played particularly well, it was Julian Sayin who outperformed Manning in Ohio State’s 14-7 win.
Sayin was poised and collected in his first career start, which came against the No. 1 team in the country. He went 13-of-20 for 126 yards and tossed a 40-yard touchdown to WR Carnell Tate. Ohio State did a great job of protecting him, as the true sophomore was not sacked. After the game, head coach Ryan Day admitted that the Buckeyes kept the game plan conservative for their young quarterback.
“When you’re the quarterback at Ohio State and you’re playing No. 1 Texas against one of the top defenses in the country, which we have a tremendous amount of respect for, the one thing we didn’t want to do—and I didn’t want to do—was put him in a bad spot,” Day explained. “It’s just not fair to him. Now, coming out of it, quite honestly, I think he probably could have handled it, you know, but we weren’t going to do that, because we know it’s a long season, and that was the decision that was made.”
Ohio State’s running game managed just 77 yards on the ground compared to Texas rolling up 166. Overall, the Longhorns outgained the Buckeyes 336-203, though much of Texas’ production came late while Ohio State was focused on running down the clock.
Despite the modest stat line, Day came away impressed with what he saw from Sayin.
“I was impressed with his poise. He had a good look in his eye, and what he was saying, what he was seeing, was exactly what was going on,” Day said. “That’s a great sign. I remember CJ’s [Stroud] first start. I remember Justin’s [Fields] first start. And when I say first start, I mean in big games—Dwayne [Haskins], Kyle [McCord], you know. Will [Howard] was different because he had played a lot of football, but when you’re out there for the first time, there are so many things to take into consideration.”
Being mentioned alongside the likes of C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields after your first start is a strong endorsement—and in Sayin’s case, it’s deserved. Ohio State is now 1-0 after knocking off the top-ranked Longhorns, showing they’ve picked up right where they left off from their national championship run.
Sayin and the Buckeyes will face Grambling State next week in a clear step down in competition. Expect Ohio State to open up the playbook more, get Sayin comfortable, and eventually give the backups some work.