Last season, with QB Julian Sayin at the helm, Ohio State finally snapped its four-game losing streak against Michigan. However, while that was one of the goals of their season, the 2025 campaign was ultimately a failure for the defending champions. The QB1 echoed this sentiment as he set the expectations for the upcoming season.
“That’s something [beating Michigan] we needed to get done, but there’s still more,” said Sayin this week. “The standard at Ohio State is to win every game. We’ve seen what the players that came before us have done, and it’s our responsibility to uphold that standard.”
By leading Ohio State to a victory over Michigan, Julian Sayin became the first Buckeyes QB to beat the Wolverines since Justin Fields did so in 2019. In the win, Sayin completed 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards and three TDs; for comparison, Fields threw for 302 yards and four TDs during his 56–27 rout of Michigan in Ann Arbor. That win propelled the undefeated Buckeyes into the 2025 B1G Championship Game against Indiana.
In that game, OSU fell 13–10 to the Hoosiers, and a stout Indiana defense sacked Sayin five times. Following their loss in the conference title game, the committee ranked the Buckeyes as the No. 2 seed in the final CFP rankings, and this seeding gave them a first-round bye. In the quarterfinal, Ohio State lost to Miami, ending its national title hopes.
In 2026, Sayin, who finished fourth in the 2025 Heisman race, and his team are eager to build a level of OSU that they saw back in 2014. That season was the last time OSU successfully achieved three major goals: beating Michigan, winning the B1G Championship, and winning the national title. In 2014’s historic campaign under head coach Urban Meyer, OSU beat Michigan 42–28, defeated Wisconsin 59–0 in the B1G title game, and beat Oregon 42–20 to win the first-ever CFP.
“We want to put another one of these banners up,” said Sayin.
Even the Buckeyes’ head coach emphasized that anything less than perfection is considered a failure in Columbus. He had framed the 2025 season not as a title defense, but as a renewed “attack” on the national championship. “We’re not defending anything. They can’t take the trophy away,” said Day. “We’re attacking.”
OSU has confidence in Julian Sayin
In the 2025 season, a recurring concern was Sayin’s inability to “problem solve” with his legs. But this spring, the QB increased his use of his legs, scoring a 4-yard rushing TD on a scramble during the spring game. But you can’t overlook his struggles against Miami and Indiana last season. Here’s where OSU WR Jeremiah Smith stepped in to clarify his feelings on Julian Sayin.
“He throws one of the most catchable balls you’re going to see a quarterback throw, and he’s gotten even better now at putting the ball right where it needs to be,” said Smith. “All you need is a little window, and Julian’s going to put it there, and he’s got the confidence in his receivers that we’re going to go get it.”
Last season, Smith was Sayin’s primary target, catching 12 of his 32 TD passes. But not only the WR, Ryan Day also believes in his QB’s growth. “Julian is more mature physically and more mature mentally as a leader. He’s got a good handle on what we’re trying to do, and when you have experience and have played in these big games, won some of them and lost some of them, there’s no substitute for that.”
