Three things Julian Sayin must do in order to grow from Cotton Bowl loss

There are a lot of Ohio State Buckeyes fans who are still reeling from the 24-14 Cotton Bowl loss to the Miami Hurricanes, as the school finishes the season on a two-game losing streak and was knocked out of the playoffs earlier than expected.

Despite the poor outcome, there were still some positives to get out of the game, including sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin getting the first playoff start of his career. He finished the game completing 22 of 35 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions in the loss.

This is a solid start for a player who has started just 14 games in his college career, but still has a lot of room for growth. What can Sayin learn from the game that can help him develop into an even better quarterback in 2026?

Must Be Quicker with Throwing the Football

One thing became very clear over the last two games: Sayin does not handle pressure from the defense well. He took 10 sacks with five in each of the two losses. A lot of that could be blamed on the offensive line, as there was some movement there for starters.

Sayin has to learn when to get rid of the ball more quickly, whether he throws it out of bounds or finds another receiver. He's got the accuracy when given the time in the pocket, but he has to get better with getting the ball out of his hands while being able to stay in the pocket to take a hit in the face of pressure.

Eliminate the Mistakes and Trust His Reads

The turnovers were what really put Sayin and the Buckeyes in a hole against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten title game and the Hurricanes game. In the last two contests, Sayin has thrown for three interceptions after having just four in the first 12 games of the season.

This goes back to him making quicker decisions to avoid mistakes. Take what the defense gives you, and Sayin will be just fine as he completed 77% of his passes, so he has the accuracy, but needs to trust himself more in the pocket.

Don't Linger on the Loss for Too Long

A performance like that can easily get into a young quarterback's mind, as it could rattle their confidence. One example of this is Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who took almost the whole season to bounce back from the Buckeyes games on opening weekend.

While there will be valuable lessons for Sayin to take from watching the Hurricanes' tape, it's also essential to move on from the game. He's got to have the next play mentality and remember all the good he did during the regular season to make himself a Heisman Trophy candidate.