A quarterback can be playing in a national championship game or against a remedial FCS school, an accurate pass in an accurate pass.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin faced the latter opponent on Saturday in a very overmatched Grambling State. The Buckeyes aren’t hanging any banners after beating the Tigers 70-0. But the accuracy is undeniable when Sayin is slinging strikes like these.
That was easy.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 6, 2025
Julian Sayin finds Will Kacmarek to open the scoring for No. 1 @OhioStateFB.
: BTN pic.twitter.com/yXRgJV7q17
Sayin set an Ohio State record by completing his first 16 passes of the day against Grambling State, finishing a gaudy 18-of-19 for 306 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, all in the first half. The competition wasn’t close to as strong as it was in Week 1 against Texas, but the Buckeyes’ talented redshirt freshman quarterback took another step toward delivering on his potential.
“I think we had a great scheme in our passing attack, and the coaches did a great job of dialing up some great plays,” Sayin said after the win. “Offensive line blocked well, receivers caught the ball well, running backs ran hard. And we had some great plays, but a couple mistakes we got to clean up.”
Much of the progress for Sayin on Saturday came from a game plan that allowed him to be more aggressive tossing the rock.
Ohio State, per Ryan Day’s own admission, kept things conservative against Texas. But the step back in competition allowed him and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to push the envelope more through the air. That was apparent when the Buckeyes started their second drive at their own 13-yard line and called an out-and-up for Jeremiah Smith off Sayin’s arm. The duo connected for an 87-yard touchdown, the second-longest pass play in school history.
“You saw a lot more RPOs, you saw a lot of the things coming out of his hand,” Day said. “We actually started a drive, I think, maybe we were inside the 10, 20-yard line where we took a shot early and hit it. Down in the red zone, we were throwing it. We were really forcing the issue down there. And the more we're putting in his hands to manage the game. And I thought he did a nice job.”
JEREMIAH SMITH TO THE HOUSE @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/QpZjBoxZNL
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2025
As the offense opened up and Sayin strung together quality throws, he grew more and more comfortable with his game. His poise was a major positive during the win over the Longhorns, but more experience – and especially more success – will only further that trait.
“When you get those completions kind of racking up, it builds confidence,” Sayin said. “And then the energy from the other players in the offense, when they start seeing we're moving the ball down the field like that, the other guys are bringing energy.”
And, again, the accuracy of Sayin’s throws continues to raise eyebrows. His completion percentage is now up to 79.5% through two games, and that’s with three drops by his receivers against the Longhorns mixed in.
“It's crazy,” Smith said of Sayin’s accuracy. “I've been seeing it since his freshman year, since last year. Nothing surprises me at this point. He can make any and every throw, like I said before. He's controlling the offense at a very good pace right now, so I'm very excited for him.”
As counterintuitive as it sounds, Sayin’s first career interception was also a step forward, if for no other reason than it’s out of the way now. He answered the following possession with his final two completions of the afternoon for 16 yards, leading Ohio State on a 62-yard touchdown drive to go up 35-0 before halftime.
Day commended Sayin’s decision-making on the whole, pointing to one play where he scrambled for 3 yards rather than throw the ball into coverage. He also appreciated the recognition on his quarterback’s touchdown toss to Kacmarek, seeing a defender with his back turned and targeting him.
“You never want to see an interception, but it's good to have some of these learning moments to understand just how it all works,” Day said. “And when you can get some of these first-time things behind you, it is good. But that's it, no more interceptions. Not allowed (laughs).”
All around, it was another step for Sayin this week. That’s his continued focus as he takes more and more command under center for the Buckeyes.
“I think the whole week we've kind of been talking about, last week's done with, and how can we improve, and how can we get better,” Sayin said. “I think this week of practice was very important for us. And showing up in this game, I think we took a good step forward, and just getting better. It's all about how can we improve from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3 and just keep stacking days.”
