The Ohio State Buckeyes are doing whatever they can to make another run to the College Football Playoff title game.
Ryan Day’s team defeated Notre Dame to win the national championship, but they saw a large number of tars leave for the NFL, including Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and Will Howard.
As such, Julian Sayin won the QB1 job in Columbus, and so far, he has done nothing but deliver.
The sophomore QB has thrown for 1,313 yards with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions while leading Ohio State to a 5-0 start.
On Friday, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban had a glowing endorsement of Sayin and the Ohio State team during an episode of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“They’ve been one of the most consistent teams so far this season. Look at their defense. They’ve only given up 25 points for the whole season and have been dominant and have played two really good teams, Texas and Washington.”
“And talk about Julian Sayin. Nobody in the country is completing 80% of his passes but him,” Saban added.
Ohio State Has Had No Issues Thus Far
GettyJeremiah Smith of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State enters Week 7 with a 5-0 record and a tough matchup against No. 17 Illinois on the road.
But, it has been smooth sailing for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State defeated Texas, 14-7, in the opening weekend in a lackluster outing from both teams. Since then, Ohio State has allowed a total of 18 points and has won three of those four games by 28 points or more.
Ohio State went into Seattle and defeated Washington, 24-6, and then took care of Minnesota in Columbus, 42-3.
Speaking of Sayin, the Buckeyes QB has thrown for three or more touchdowns in three of the last four games and has gone back-to-back weeks without tossing an interception.
Can Ohio State Buck This Illinois Ranked Matchup Trend?
Illinois’ only loss came in Week 4 in a 63-10 blowout loss against Indiana. Since then, the Hoosiers have emerged into the top 10, so take that as you will.
Illinois defeated USC, 34-32, and then topped Purdue a week ago, 43-27, on the road.
Moreover, Illinois has won four straight matchups against Ohio State when both teams were ranked.
The last one came in 2001, but this year’s Illinois team is different than in recent years.
Quarterback Luke Altmyer is dealing. He has thrown for 1,573 yards with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions on the season. Wide receiver Hank Beatty has 32 catches for 569 yards and two scores, and Bret Bielema has this team trending in the right direction just weeks after an ugly loss to Indiana.
Ryan Day even views this as a “top-10 matchup,” via Chase Brown of 11 Warriors.
“To me, this is like a top-10 matchup,” Day said. “I know that they had that game against Indiana, but throw that game out because it was just one of those days. When you look at what they’ve done, who they’ve beaten, what Bret (Bielema) has done since he’s been at Illinois, this is a very, very good team. This is a bigger challenge going on the road.”
Ohio State faces Wisconsin in Week 8 before a bye, and if the Buckeyes can get past Illinois in Week 7, an undefeated record is even more realistic.
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