Ohio State Quarterback Julian Sayin Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Freshman of the Week

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Following his 393-yard, four-touchdown performance in Ohio State's 34-0 win over Wisconsin, Julian Sayin earned his first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award and third Big Ten Freshman of the Week award of the season.

Julian Sayin reels in a pair of Week 8 B1G honors

@ifs x #PlayerOfTheWeek pic.twitter.com/sH8JNEkw8X

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 20, 2025

Sayin completed 36 of 42 passes (85.7 percent) against the Badgers. His career-high 393 passing yards were the most an Ohio State quarterback has recorded since C.J. Stroud set the school record with 573 passing yards in the Buckeyes' win over Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl Game.

“We really tried to put a lot on his plate today and let him push the ball down the field. I thought he made some really good decisions,” Ryan Day said of Sayin in an interview with CBS Sports. “I thought there were some really good catches as well, but he's making good decisions. I thought he made a couple of really good scramble plays down the stretch as well.”

One of those really good catches came on Sayin's first pass of the game, as wide receiver Carnell Tate leaped over two defenders, lost his helmet and still scored. Sayin went back to Tate for his second touchdown pass in the opening frame before finding Will Kacmarek for a 2-yard score in the third quarter and Brandon Inniss for a 13-yard score in the fourth.

“He’s the truth," Tate said of Sayin. "He’s the Heisman winner. Ain’t no question, ifs ands or doubts. Each and every week, he goes out there to prove to us why he’s a Heisman winner.”

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Sayin has the third-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy (+400) behind Alabama's Ty Simpson (+320) and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (+340). While Sayin works to earn an invite to New York in December, he can continue to rack up Big Ten weekly awards. He leads the Buckeyes with four this season, while Caden Curry has earned one.