What Ohio State vs. Michigan means for Julian Sayin's Heisman candidacy

The Ohio State Buckeyes have done it.

After many long, grueling years, they can officially say they've beaten the Michigan Wolverines.

And one man who led the charge from the opening snap was sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin, who certainly deserves to have his stock for the Heisman Trophy take a ginormous leap.

Sayin helped surge the Buckeyes to a 27-9 win over the Wolverines on the road in Ann Arbor, Mich., in less than favorable conditions. He finished the game with 233 yards and three touchdowns, showing that he can take over a game and lead the Buckeyes to a win when the pressure is at its highest level.

Prior to Saturday's game, many analysts and critics alike believed the only thing holding the Ohio State signal caller back from true contention was how unknown it was on how he played in high-stress, highly competitive circumstances.

Such concerns can now be thrown out the window as he led Ohio State to snap a four-year winning streak for Michigan.

The No. 1 nationally ranked Buckeyes have waltzed forward to a 12-0 record in the regular season with just a conference championship and NCAA playoffs remaining on the year.

They've taken down countless opponents by an average of over 30 points this season, including wins over the then-No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns and now a top 15 opponent in the Wolverines. From here forward, it's only a uphill climb for the Buckeyes.

And all the eyes will be on Sayin.

He's up over 3,000 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and has just five interceptions. That effectiveness in the passing game is unheard of for such a young quarterback, but Sayin's making his game look like he's an experienced veteran.

Through his 12 outings under center this season, he's not thrown over 10 incompletions in a game, with an average of nearly 25 passes a game. He's also still the most accurate passer in the nation, just south of an 80% completion percentage.

Despite the absences of wideouts Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith at points this year due to injury, Sayin hasn't blinked. His confidence and composure in the pocket and when throwing down the field haven't wavered, no matter who he's throwing the rock to.

In the past couple of weeks, his numbers have dropped as he failed to eclipse 200 yards in two straight outings, but he rose right back above that mark in the win on Saturday.

While stats shouldn't be all that weighs on the minds of Heisman voters, it certainly draws the mind to where to vote.

Sayin has the winning down, and his stats are continuing to come along,

Stats really shouldn't be everything when it comes to picking a winner, but they are an important part of taking home the Heisman Trophy.

Sayin at least has the winning part down, now he has to continue to improve his numbers to appease the eyes of onlookers.

Others in the race include Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. While they're all very deserving of winning the award, Sayin has separated himself from the bunch just by his sheer control of the game.

Without Sayin, the Buckeyes would obviously still have success on the gridiron, but nothing close to what everyone's been able to witness in 2025.

Now, with the Buckeyes punching their ticket to the Big Ten title game, Sayin will have an even better opportunity to overtake Mendoza.

If he can outplay Indiana's quarterback, there would be very little argument for Sayin to not be this year's Heisman winner.

Only time will tell whether or not Sayin can truly do what many have doubted him to be able of, but one things for certain: he's the real deal.