Alex Smith shouts out his favorite college football QB during ‘GameDay’ appearance

On Saturday morning's episode of 'College GameDay,' former NFL quarterback Alex Smith joined the set live from his alma mater, Utah, to pick the day's slate of games. Smith turned in a legendary career with the Utes, finishing fourth in Heisman voting in 2004 before becoming the No. 1 draft pick in 2005.

He and the GameDay crew took a look at one preseason blockbuster matchup that's totally lost its luster — Penn State at Ohio State — with the group unanimously picking the Buckeyes to take care of business at home. Nick Saban commented that Ohio State is the 'most dominant' and 'most consistent' team that he's seen in college football this season. Pat McAfee then added that while Ohio State has yet to beat a great team, by his estimation, the Buckeyes have played great in every single one of their 2025 games so far.

For Alex Smith, Ohio State's superpowers start at the position he knows very well: quarterback. He's a huge fan of Buckeye QB1 Julian Sayin, especially since they share a West Cast background.

"Quick shoutout to Julian Sayin, another San Diego QB," Smith said as part of his PSU-OSU analysis. "I love how he's playing."

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) warms up | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After that praise of Sayin, of course, Smith had to go with the Buckeyes to win.

"Listen, if this game were at Happy Valley, maybe I would entertain the points," he commented on the nearly-20-point spread on the matchup. "But listen, on the banks of the Olentangy, not a chance. OSU takes this one I think."

Heading into Saturday's rivalry matchup, Julian Sayin is absolutely playing like one of the best quarterbacks in college football. In fact, he leds the nation in completion percentage right now (among QBs with enough samplem size) at 80% on the nose. If that wasn't enough, he also tops the country in sports reference's quarterback rating metric, which may not tell you everything, but to be No. 1 surely says something abut his play.

As a sophomore this season, Sayin is in just his first year as the full-time OSU starter after he sat behind the veteran Will Howard a year ago. Already, Sayin flashes a higher ceiling of talent as a thrower, but Buckeye fans know that Howard's steely presence in the pocket and strong decision-making instinct made him more than serviceable enough to lead a national championship winner.

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