Eleven teams across college football haven’t allowed a sack through two games of their season. Only one of them has a ranked opponent included in their pass-rusher shutouts.
That team is Ohio State. No. 7 Texas, despite returning two of the nation’s most feared quarterback-sackers from its 2024 team, never brought down Julian Sayin in the Week 1 clash between the Buckeyes and Longhorns. FCS Grambling State never arrived in Sayin’s county, failing to record a single pressure against Ohio State per Pro Football Focus.
The sample size is small, true, but the Buckeyes have been beneficiaries of elite pass protection through two weeks. Combined with decisive quarterback play, Ohio State is stymying opposing pass rushers.
“I think the ball is coming out on time, and I think that there's good timing there,” Ryan Day said on Wednesday. “And we have to continue to figure out ways to get the ball out of the quarterback's hand, but also push the ball down the field without putting the quarterback at risk. But a big part of that is the work we put in during the week. Challenging each other in some of the drills we just got out of where there's great pass rush and great protection. And there's a timing element to it. There's a lot that comes with it.”
One thing that’s made Ohio State’s pass protection performance so remarkable is the new faces playing for the Buckeyes at both offensive tackle positions. Austin Siereveld is playing left tackle for the first time after sliding out from guard this offseason, and Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels won the right tackle job and has excelled despite possessing just four starts of experience with the Gophers.
Siereveld and Daniels matched up with 2024 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Colin Simmons on the edge in Week 1, who had nine sacks to lead all Longhorns last year. Siereveld didn’t allow a single pressure despite the daunting test.
“I have all the pride in the world,” Siereveld said of protecting Sayin’s blindside. “It's my job. No one can touch Julian, or Lincoln if he's in there. But if I let up a sack, I have a horrible game. And I'm gonna get ripped. The media and the fans, it's gonna be a bad day if I let up a sack. But you have to have the mindset that no one can touch the quarterback. You can't even let up the pressure.”
From Sayin’s perspective, the offensive line has played amazingly thus far. Their keeping him upright has facilitated a fantastic beginning to his time as Ohio State’s starting quarterback; he’s completed 79.5% of his passes at a gaudy 11.1 yards per pass attempt.
“The offensive line has been phenomenal,” Sayin said. “I mean, zero sacks in two weeks, it's been great. They've done a really good job in the run game and in the pass game, just keeping me protected.”
Siereveld returned the compliments. He’s enjoyed Sayin’s command of the offense thus far, and has seen his leadership continue to take steps.
“He's really stepped up,” Siereveld said. “You can feel the offense starting to flow a little, like we know that play is gonna hit, he's gonna get us (in) a nice spot. If there's an alert, he's gonna alert it. And we’re just gonna roll. He's really stepped up being vocal in the huddle too.”
Sayin’s lightning-quick release has been a point of conversation since he first arrived on campus, and the benefits of that in avoiding sacks are obvious. It’s something he’s possessed since a young age, he said. But the less-heralded – and honestly more important – element of getting the football delivered quickly is processing and decision-making.
The word “poise” has been used time and again to describe Sayin and his calm collectedness. There’s now a semi-famous post about it on X that found its way to the Ohio Stadium scoreboard against Grambling State.
Julian Sayin plays football like he is listening to Maroon 5 in his AirPods
— Hamp (@Ron_Hamp) August 30, 2025
But Sayin’s ability to make the correct decision quickly with the football and toss an accurate ball is the manifestation of that. His average time to throw is 2.61 seconds through two games, again per PFF. For reference, that would have placed No. 9 among NFL starting quarterbacks in 2024.
“I think I say this a lot, but I feel like my coaches have me really well prepared,” Sayin said. “Going into every week, I feel like I'm very confident in the looks that I'm going to get and then they show up on Saturday. So when I see the first read's open or first read's not open, I'm able to go on to my next read, my next read and, the coaches do a good job of having me prepared and giving me multiple looks throughout the week.”
Blockers and quarterbacks have obvious roles in pass protection, but Day also puts stress on his receivers to get open so the ball can get out. With Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and company, it’s not usually a concern.
“You wouldn't think about that the back end is involved much in pass protection, but we say all the time that when you're running a route on third down, you're running the route against the defensive end, not against the corner because of the timing of it all,” Day said. “So, I think you'll hear me all the time if you're out at practice. Once it gets to about two, two and a half seconds (after the snap), I'm saying ‘ball.’ The ball's got to come out or it's got to get checked down.”
Despite the lack of opposing sacks through two weeks, Day is challenging his team to continue growing in pass blocking and the broader passing game. All in the process as the season marches on.
“Those are all things we're working on, and guys are working up front to get better,” Day said. “We know that there's all kinds of different things that can come in in terms of situations, twists, blitzes, different ways to isolate guys in one-on-one matchups, there's just a lot that goes with it. So, we have to continue to get better, and that's the focus, is getting better.
“I mentioned to the guys today that when you see somebody young, whether it's a brother or a relative or just someone who's young and you don't see them for six months or a year and you see them and you're like, ‘Wow, you've really grown up.’ And when you're practicing every day, sometimes you don't see the growth, you don't see the progress, but it's there.”
