Julian Sayin charges toward Heisman favorite after historic start for Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are currently charging head first into the back half of the 2025 campaign.

And leading them to such success is sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin.

Heading into the final few weeks of the college football regular season, the Buckeyes are currently No. 1 overall in the nation with Sayin marching into the race for a Heisman trophy. This past weekend, he delivered an incredible performance against the Penn State Nittany Lions in a 38-14 win.

Sayin tossed for 316 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-23 completions, displaying yet another convincing outing that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.

Julian Sayin and his WR1s were at it again in Week 10 🔥 pic.twitter.com/HaEVtRqEQE
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 1, 2025

On the season, he's marched his numbers forward to 2,188 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions, all while continuing to be efficient in the completion percentage department with 80.7%.

That number is the top slate in the nation, ahead of the next closest, Washington's Demond Williams Jr., by seven percent.

The so called "worst" game of the season so far for Sayin came back in the season opener against the then-No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. His passer efficiency rating came in at 134.3, with numbers of 126 yards and one touchdown. A clean-cut, consistent game that helped lead the Buckeyes to a win in his first collegiate start was his "worst game" based off passer efficiency.

That's just a testament to how good Sayin has played.

"If Julian continues to play the way that he's playing, he deserves to be in the [Heisman] conversation, at the very least," Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said.

Sayin now has four games this season where he's completed 85% of passes for more than 300 yards and at least three passing touchdowns. He also has seven consecutive games with multiple touchdowns, five 300-yard passing games and six games with a completion percentage of 75% of higher.

His completion numbers obviously standout as one of the major contributors to the offense's efficiency, but when asked about it Sayin said its a "team stat" and less about himself. Humility has been a defining characteristic of his time as the team's starting quarterback.

But even then, its impossible to not be drawn towards his numbers.

On the end of national rankings, he sits No.1 in quarterback efficiency, No. 2 in yards per attempt and No. 3 in touchdown passes.

“Julian's really getting more and more confidence every day,” Day said. “He works at it. I think the preparation that he puts in in that quarterback room is starting to show. His mind works as quick as the ball comes out. He's obviously accurate.”

Sayin's next test will come against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Nov. 8, with kickoff slated for 1:00 p.m. While Purdue hasn't had an exceptional season, playing on the road at Ross-Ade Stadium will prevent unfamiliar territory for Ohio State.

Only time will tell whether or not Sayin will be able to remain atop the current Heisman race and potentially take home the honor for Columbus.