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Ohio State QB Julian Sayin Makes College Football History With Win Over No. 1 Texas

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 3:49 PM ET

With much of the attention heading into the Week 1 matchup between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes going to Texas quarterback Arch Manning, Julian Sayin introduced himself to the college football world on Saturday.

Although the redshirt freshman wasn't asked to do too much in Ohio State's 14-7 win over the Longhorns, he didn't make any costly mistakes to allow Texas to claw its way back to victory. He finished the game 13-of-20 for 126 yards, while also throwing for a touchdown.

In addition to looking like the more polished former No. 1 quarterback recruit, Sayin also made a bit of history for his role in the win.

Prior to Ohio State's win, quarterbacks making their first-career start against the nation's No. 1 team had gone a combined 0-16. Following the win, Sayin is now the first quarterback to ever be in the win column in this exact scenario.

Although it's not like Ohio State was fielding a random walk-on at quarterback, the pregame buzz around Sayin resembled as much.

Sayin ranked as the No. 6 overall recruit in the 2024 class according to 247Sports, while ranking as the No. 1 player in California and No. 1 quarterback in the country. He was initially set to play for Alabama, but transferred to Ohio State after Nick Saban retired.

He and the Buckeyes will have a fairly light slate over the next couple of weeks, hosting Grambling and Ohio, which should allow him to showcase his abilities even more. With that being said, Sayin proved on Saturday that he can win the big game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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