Julian Sayin relished the roar.
He was lying on the turf when the Ohio Stadium stands erupted at the sight of star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith hauling in a touchdown catch.
“It’s a good feeling when you’re on the ground,” Sayin said, “and you hear the crowd cheer.”
Sayin had hung in the pocket, leaving Smith with enough time to break his route toward a corner of the north end zone, before delivering the 27-yard pass while absorbing a hit by linebacker Ismael Kante.
It was the exclamation point on Sayin’s performance in Ohio State’s win over Illinois on Sept. 26, when he threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns and scrambled for another score.
As he began his second season as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, Sayin remained among the top passers
in the Football Bowl Subdivision. But coach Ryan Day challenged him last week to take another step and give them more.
“It was just making me better,” Sayin said, “whether it was talking about how we can extend plays more and making me better to continue to grow my game.”
Sayin showed a willingness to stand in the pocket in the face of pressure against the Illini while also escaping when necessary.
On a third down in the second quarter, he shook off two potential sacks and scrambled for 8 yards, just enough to move the chains.
He later ran for a 7-yard touchdown, rolling to his left and diving toward the front pylon before defensive lineman Darrell Prater could get him down short of the goal line. Illinois’ pass coverage left him without his primary target, prompting him to spring loose.
“I did feel the green grass backside,” Sayin said, “and ended up taking off.”
Sayin’s 19 scrambling yards against Illinois were a career-high, according to Pro Football Focus, and energized the Horseshoe as much as his strikes to Smith.
The effort also buoyed Sayin.
“There's definitely some confidence coming out of the last game based on some of the stuff he put on film,” Day said.
The jolt was needed for Sayin as he braces for this weekend’s trip to Iowa. Not only must the sixth-ranked Buckeyes go on the road for the first time since their collapse at Texas, but the top-15 matchup also pits him against one of the nation’s best defenses.
No one in the FBS is allowing fewer points per game than the 14th-ranked Hawkeyes, who surrendered just three touchdowns in four games in September.
“They're a very good defense,” Sayin said, “a group who is very fundamentally sound. They're really good in what they do, they're really well coached and they have a lot of talent on their defense.”It’ll be the first time Sayin has faced renowned Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who leans on a scheme that strives to limit explosive plays, forcing offenses to move the ball in methodical fashion. He was a backup to Will Howard when the Buckeyes last saw the Hawkeyes in 2024.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge,” Sayin said.
When Ohio State previously traveled to top-ranked Texas for a nonconference game, Sayin helped the Buckeyes to march out to a 23-3 lead.
But as their sizable advantage vanished in the fourth quarter, Sayin fell off. He completed just five of 16 passes for 86 yards over the entire second half.
Now he’ll have another opportunity at Kinnick Stadium, the first of three road trips over a four-game stretch in October, carrying the confidence he gained last weekend.
“It was great to see Julian respond the way he did,” Day said. “We’re going into an even tougher environment, so he's going to have to continue to build in those areas. It was good to see some really good growth, but he's got to keep going from there.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State QB Julian Sayin glad to 'grow my game' before Iowa test
