Even snow and an early interception didn't affect the California kid, as Julian Sayin proved, yet again, that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
For one of the first times this season, Sayin faced some adversity early on in Ohio State's win over Michigan on Saturday.
With the Buckeyes already facing a 3-0 deficit on their opening drive of the game, the redshirt freshman threw an interception on OSU's second play of the game, giving the Wolverines prime field position. But the Silver Bullets' ability to hold Michigan to only three points on the ensuing drive seemed to give Ohio State's offense the confidence it needed the rest of the game, even after a rough start.
"Our whole mindset in the quarterback room is just to stay even keeled and keep swinging, keep battling," Sayin said after the game. "We knew there was going to be adversity, but we weren't going to let it faze us. Adversity came on the second play of the game, so we got to keep battling. I think as an offense, that's our whole mindset: Just keep battling.
"It put our defense in a really bad spot with that interception and they ended up forcing three. So it was just no panic. We're only down six, so let's just go down and get seven and take the lead. Credit to our defense. They played great all game and to hold them to three there, it really just gave us a lot of confidence as an offense."
That was the lone turnover for OSU's offense in The Game, as Sayin and company dominated a very good Michigan defense, both through the air and on the ground.
After two incompletions to start the game, including an interception, Sayin completed 18 of his next 21 passes, including three touchdowns of 35 yards, four yards and a 50-yard bomb. In all, Sayin completed 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards, three scores and an interception, looking like a seasoned veteran rather than a redshirt freshman making his debut in The Game.
To take a closer look at Sayin's performance against Michigan, we charted all 26 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.
After not completing a pass 20-plus yards downfield the previous two games, Sayin completed three of five deep balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns in Ann Arbor, showcasing his accuracy downfield with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate back in action.
Even though he struggled with his accuracy on passes 20-plus yards downfield over the last couple of games before Saturday, Sayin has still completed 65.6% of those passes this season, by far the best percentage in the country. Sayin's 28.0 yards per attempt on those throws leads the FBS by a wide margin as well. His 11 touchdowns on deep throws are tied for the seventh-most in the country.
For just the first time since the win over Texas in the season opener, Sayin didn't complete an intermediate pass against the Wolverines, missing on both attempts, including the interception. Over the last two games, he has completed just one of his last eight passes thrown between 10-19 yards downfield.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2025 |
|---|---|
| 20+ | 21/32 (65.6%), 897 YARDS (28.0 PER ATTEMPT), 11 TD |
| 10-19 | 41/68 (60.3%), 684 YARDS (10.4 PER ATTEMPT), 7 TD, 1 INT |
| 0-9 | 139/167 (83.2%), 1,167 YARDS (7.0 PER ATTEMPT), 9 TD, 3 INT |
| BEHIND LOS | 57/60 (95%), 317 YARDS (5.3 PER ATTEMPT), 3 TD, 1 INT |
Much like he has all season, Sayin dominated on play-action passes against Michigan. He completed seven of eight throws for 128 yards and a touchdown in that concept on Saturday.
He has now completed 80.3% of play-action passes, the second-best in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 50 passes in that concept. Sayin's 1,518 yards on those passes are the sixth-most in the country. Ohio State has used play action on 42.8% of Sayin's dropbacks this season, the 20th-most among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 50 play-action passes.
| PLAY ACTION | NON-PLAY ACTION | |
|---|---|---|
| at michigan | 7/8 (87.5%), 128 YARDS (16.0 PER ATTEMPT), 1 TD | 12/18 (66.7%), 105 YARDS (5.8 PER ATTEMPT), 2 TD, 1 INT |
| 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 | 114/142 (80.3%), 1,518 YARDS (10.7 PER ATTEMPT), 13 TD, 1 INT | 144/185 (77.8%), 1,547 YARDS (8.4 PER ATTEMPT), 17 TD, 4 INT |
Sayin was kept clean on 25 of his 27 dropbacks against Michigan, as Ohio State's offensive line dominated all game, both in pass protection and the running game. He completed 18 of 24 passes for 228 yards, three touchdowns and an interception when the pocket was clean. In his two dropbacks under pressure, Sayin completed one of two passes for five yards.
While Sayin has only been under pressure on 23.6% of dropbacks, which is tied for the 12th-best mark in the FBS among quarterbacks who have been pressured on at least 50 dropbacks, he has been one of college football’s best quarterbacks under pressure. Sayin has completed 64.4% of his passes under pressure this season, the second-best mark in the FBS. His 8.6 yards per attempt while under pressure are tied for the seventh-most in the country.
The Wolverines blitzed on 12 of Sayin's 27 dropbacks, but he did quite well when they did, completing 8 of 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown when Michigan brought extra rushers.
Sayin's 79.3% completion rate when opponents blitz is the best in the country, while his 17 touchdowns against the blitz are tied for the second-most in the FBS. Opponents have brought extra pressure on 36.2% of the quarterback's dropbacks this season.
| PRESSURE | 2025 |
|---|---|
| kept clean | 213/257 (82.9%), 2,463 YARDS (9.6 PER ATTEMPT), 24 TD, 3 INT |
| under pressure | 45/70 (64.3%), 602 YARDS, (8.6 PER ATTEMPT), 6 TD, 2 INT |
| not blitzed | 166/211 (78.7%), 2,070 YARDS (9.8 PER ATTEMPT), 13 TD, 3 INT |
| blitzed | 92/116 (79.3%), 995 YARDS (8.6 PER ATTEMPT), 17 TD, 1 INT |
Below, we take a look at Sayin's two best throws of the game and one that he would love to have back:
Bad Throw: Interception
Sayin reads the defense wrong and throws it directly to the Michigan defensive back on Ohio State's second offensive play of the game.
SAYIN IS PICKED OFF @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/aMfFghwvlK
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 29, 2025
Sayin knew what he did wrong right away, admitting it to Ryan Day on the sideline directly after the turnover.
"Then we throw the pick, and he comes off and thought it was Cover 1 but it was Cover 2, and I'm like, jeez, that's not what we wanted for a start," Day said. “But I never felt panicked. I felt like ‘All right, we're gonna rally back on this thing.’”
The redshirt freshman admitted that it was a good play by Michigan's defense that caught him off guard.
"Yeah, they gave a good disguise, and I thought I had Jeremiah singled up, one-on-one, and I ended up throwing it out there so the corner was able to come off and make the interception," Sayin said.
Good Throw: 35-yard Touchdown to Jeremiah Smith
Sayin drops it in the bucket to No. 4 with Michigan's safety closing in for Ohio State's first touchdown and lead of the game.
FOURTH-AND-JEREMIAHpic.twitter.com/gcaArmkb2k
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 29, 2025
Good Throw: 50-yard Touchdown to Carnell Tate
On a play where literally every receiver was open, Sayin steps up in the pocket and finds Tate in stride for an easy touchdown to give the Buckeyes a two-possession lead.
CARNELL TATE LOOKS HEALTHY TO USpic.twitter.com/Sr9R9uco70
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 29, 2025
At the conclusion of the regular season, Sayin has made a strong case for the Heisman Trophy entering the Big Ten Championship Game.
His national rankings for the season include the following:
- First in completion percentage (78.9%)
- Tied-third in yards per attempt (9.4)
- First in passer rating (184.8)
- Third in passing touchdowns (30)
- First in QBR (91.4)
Sayin finishes the regular season with the best completion percentage in FBS history among qualified quarterbacks after 12 games. Also, the difference between Sayin and the quarterback with the second-best completion percentage in the country this season (Miami's Carson Beck, 74.3%) is more than the difference between Beck and the 11th-best completion percentage in the country among qualified quarterbacks (Washington's Demond Williams Jr., 70%).
Sayin's passing chart for the entire regular season:
