With Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate sidelined, Julian Sayin wasn’t at his best against Rutgers.
Although the Buckeyes still dominated Rutgers in blowout fashion, Sayin’s numbers against the Scarlet Knights were more pedestrian than they’ve been for most of the year.
Sayin completed 13 of 19 passes – both of which were tied for his fewest of the season – for two touchdowns. His 68.4% completion percentage was his second-worst of the season above only the season opener vs. Texas (65%).
That said, he still took care of business and helped lead Ohio State to 42 points. Sayin completed each of his first three passes before missing on three of his next four. Following that sequence, he completed seven straight throws before completing only two of his final five passes, with his last attempt coming with a few minutes left in the third quarter.
To take a closer look at Sayin's performance against Rutgers, we charted all 19 of his pass attempts in the blowout win. (Note: The passing chart is categorized by how many yards the quarterback threw the ball in the air past the line of scrimmage on each attempt and whether the ball reached its target inside or outside the hashes, though the stats listed include yards gained after the catch on each completion.
For the first time since the game against Washington and just the second time this season, Sayin didn't attempt a pass 20-plus yards downfield. Also, for only the fourth time this season and for the second straight game, he did not complete a deep pass.
Even though Sayin didn't throw the ball deep downfield against Rutgers, he's still completed 66.7% of those passes this season, by far the best percentage in the country. Sayin's 29.1 yards per attempt on those throws lead the FBS. His nine touchdowns on deep throws are tied for the 13th-most in the country.
For the second straight game, Sayin struggled in the intermediate part of the field, completing only one of his six pass attempts between 10-19 yards downfield against the Scarlet Knights.
He only threw one pass behind the line of scrimmage on Saturday, by far his fewest of the season. With that, Sayin was superb on his short passes, completing 11 of 12 passes thrown 0-9 yards downfield for 132 yards and a touchdown.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2025 |
|---|---|
| 20+ | 18/27 (66.7%), 787 YARDS (29.1 PER ATTEMPT), 9 TD |
| 10-19 | 41/66 (62.1%), 684 YARDS (10.4 PER ATTEMPT), 7 TD |
| 0-9 | 127/152 (83.6%), 1,063 YARDS (7.0 PER ATTEMPT), 8 TD, 3 INT |
| BEHIND LOS | 53/56 (94.6%), 298 YARDS (5.3 PER ATTEMPT), 3 TD, 1 INT |
While Sayin completed all four pass attempts for 79 yards and a touchdown on play action against Rutgers, his four throws in that concept were by far the fewest of the season.
He has now completed 79.9% of play-action passes, the best in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 50 passes in that concept. Sayin's 1,390 yards on those passes are the fourth-most in the country. Even though Ohio State only ran play action on four of Sayin's dropbacks against Rutgers, Ohio State has used play action on 43.9% of his dropbacks this season, the eighth-most among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 play-action passes.
| PLAY ACTION | NON-PLAY ACTION | |
|---|---|---|
| vs. rutgers | 4/4 (100%), 79 YARDS (19.8 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 9/15 (60%), 78 YARDS (5.2 PER ATTEMPT) 1 TD |
| vs. ucla | 7/11 (63.6%), 50 YARDS (4.5 PER ATTEMPT) | 16/20 (80%), 134 YARDS (6.7 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD |
| at purdue | 14/16 (87.5%), 165 YARDS (10.3 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 13/17 (76.5%), 138 YARDS (8.1 PER ATTEMPT), 1 INT |
| vs. penn state | 9/11 (81.8%), 139 YARDS (12.6 PER ATTEMPT), 4 TD | 11/12 (91.7%), 177 YARDS (14.8 PER ATTEMPT) |
| At wisconsin | 18/21 (85.7%), 181 YARDS (8.6 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 18/21 (85.7%), 213 YARDS (10.1 PER ATTEMPT), 3 TD |
| at Illinois | 5/9 (55.6%), 50 YARDS (5.6 PER ATTEMPT) | 14/18 (77.8%), 116 YARDS (6.4 PER ATTEMPT), 2 TD |
| vs. minnesota | 11/15 (73.3%), 186 YARDS (12.4 PER ATTEMPT), 2 TD | 12/12 (100%), 140 YARDS (11.7 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD |
| at washington | 10/12 (83.3%), 95 YARDS (7.9 PER ATTEMPT) | 12/16 (75%), 113 YARDS (7.1 PER ATTEMPT), 2 TD |
| vs. ohio | 9/11 (81.8%), 150 YARDS (13.6 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD, 1 INT | 16/21 (76.2%), 197 YARDS (9.4 PER ATTEMPT), 2 TD, 1 INT |
| vs. Grambling State | 11/11 (100%), 164 YARDS (14.9 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 7/8 (87.5%), 142 YARDS (17.8 PER ATTEMPT), 3 TD, 1 INT |
| VS. TEXAS | 4/8 (50%), 58 YARDS (7.3 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 9/12 (75%), 68 YARDS (5.7 PER ATTEMPT) |
| 2025 SEASON | 107/134 (79.9%), 1,390 YARDS (10.4 PER ATTEMPT), 12 TD, 1 INT | 132/167 (79%), 1,442 YARDS (8.6 PER ATTEMPT), 15 TD, 3 INT |
Sayin was kept clean on 12 of his 19 dropbacks against Rutgers, completing 10 of 12 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns when the pocket was clean. That said, he struggled while under pressure, completing only three of his seven pass attempts for 76 yards with the pocket closing in.
While Sayin has only been under pressure on 24.9% of dropbacks, which is the 20th-best mark in the FBS among quarterbacks who have been pressured on at least 40 dropbacks, he has been the best quarterback under pressure over the course of the season. Even after struggling in those situations against Rutgers, Sayin has completed 64.7% of his passes under pressure this season, the best mark in the FBS. His 8.8 yards per attempt while under pressure are tied for the sixth-most in the country.
The Scarlet Knights blitzed on only seven of Sayin's dropbacks. When they brought extra pressure, he completed five of seven passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns, a game after he struggled a bit in that area against UCLA.
Sayin's 80% completion rate when opponents blitz is the best in the country, while his 16 touchdowns against the blitz are tied for the third-most in the FBS. Opponents have brought extra pressure on 35.5% of the quarterback's dropbacks this season.
| PRESSURE | 2025 |
|---|---|
| kept clean | 195/233 (83.7%), 2,235 YARDS (9.6 PER ATTEMPT), 21 TD, 2 INT |
| under pressure | 44/68 (64.7%), 597 YARDS, (8.8 PER ATTEMPT), 6 TD, 2 INT |
| not blitzed | 155/196 (79.1%), 1,949 YARDS (9.9 PER ATTEMPT), 11 TD, 3 INT |
| blitzed | 84/105 (80%), 883 YARDS (8.4 PER ATTEMPT), 16 TD, 1 INT |
Below, we take a look at Sayin's best pass of the game and a misread because he didn't wait long enough in his progressions:
Waiting a Little Longer: Misses Wide-Open Brandon Inniss on Would-Be Touchdown
While it was still a five-yard completion to Max Klare on 3rd-and-7, Sayin went through his reads a little too quickly and looked away from Inniss a bit too early on what would have been a wide-open touchdown to the wideout.
It's just another reminder that Sayin is a redshirt freshman and will continue to learn from situations like these.
Great Throw: 7-Yard Touchdown to Brandon Inniss
To cap an 11-play, 98-yard touchdown drive, Sayin throws a perfect pass to Inniss in the back of the end zone to give Ohio State a 14-3 lead late in the second quarter.
But I thought Julian Sayin was only an accurate passer because of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate? pic.twitter.com/XSJd898Ljo
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) November 22, 2025
Even after back-to-back games with underwhelming numbers, Sayin remains one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season.
His national rankings for the season include the following:
- First in completion percentage (79.4%)
- Tied-fourth in yards per attempt (9.4)
- First in passer rating (185.4)
- Fourth in passing touchdowns (27)
- Second in QBR (90.3)
The difference between Sayin and the quarterback with the second-best completion percentage in the FBS (Miami's Carson Beck, 74.3%) is more than the difference between Beck and the 14th-best completion percentage in the country among qualified quarterbacks (UConn's Joe Fagnano, 66.3%).
Sayin's passing chart through nine games of the 2025 season:
