Without Injured QB Julian Sayin, Is Ohio State Really A Top-5 Team?

Are the Ohio State Buckeyes really a top-5 team without the presence of injured Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin? I asked this question in earnest on X, formerly known as Twitter, and I received a number of replies that ran the gamut, from "Likely not," to "1,000%, he holds us back."

Personally, I believe the Buckeyes have earned their spot as a top-5 team going into their Week 9 road test at the LA Memorial Coliseum against USC on Saturday. In Sayin's last appearance, a Buckeyes win against Indiana in Week 7, he didn’t look great. In fact, he looked rattled, out of rhythm and clearly heard footsteps after being sacked four times by a robust Hoosiers front seven.

Even Indiana coach Curt Cignetti knew the best way to stop the most intimidating player in the sport, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, was to hit Sayin before he had a chance to release the ball in the general vicinity of Smith. Left unsaid is that even when the Hoosiers didn’t hit Sayin before he threw the football, sometimes they got there just in time to hit him and not draw a roughing the passer penalty.

Like a boxer throwing body shots early in the bout, those hits on the quarterback paid off late for the Hoosiers, knocking Sayin out of the game and into a sling on his throwing arm. 

I should also add that none of these hits on Sayin were especially egregious. Football is a violent sport played at the speed of four-lane traffic on the main thoroughfare. The job of protecting the quarterback is the offensive line’s responsibility for the first two seconds after the snap. Then it’s on the quarterback to protect himself at all times.

Julian Sayin with his arm in a sling after Ohio State beat Indiana in mid-October. The junior quarterback is out indefinitely. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Both Sayin and the offensive line failed to do that for the second time in two games against the Hoosiers. The only difference this time was Ohio State won. 

But it feels like a pyrrhic victory because Sayin, Ohio State's queen on the chessboard, is out indefinitely, likely for the rest of the regular season at least, and backup quarterback Luke Fahey didn’t look great in his limited playing time to close out the Week 7 win in Bloomington.

Now after a bye week, with Fahey — or perhaps talented former five-star Tavien St. Clair — at quarterback against the USC defense, the task of protecting the quarterback has become even more paramount. In that task, the Buckeyes offensive line has been abject against class football teams. It has given up nine sacks in its last two games against Indiana and at least two to each of the top-25 opponents it has played against this season. 

With a brand-new quarterback out of the box making his first start on the road, it doesn’t take much in the way of a football brain to design a game plan that attacks the Ohio State pass protection with blitzes. 

Force Fahey (or St. Clair) to prove he can throw into the blitz — something Sayin wasn’t great at. Toss QB2 into the frying pan early and turn the stovetop up to its highest setting.

"It ain’t rocket science," a former Power Four head coach told me. "Look, I’m putting in [a] quick-game and running the ball as much as I can to help my QB. I know he’s gonna be overwhelmed, and I know they’re gonna light him up like a Christmas tree. Just be smart. That’s all you can ask of the kid."

Now, add the twist that it ain’t you or I calling USC's defensive schemes but a College Football Hall of Famer in defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. He not only knows all of this, but he's also coaching a USC team fighting for its College Football Playoff life just days before the initial reveal of the selection committee’s top-25 rankings and for a coach in Lincoln Riley, who feels one loss away from being given a pink slip. 

Quarterbacks Julian Sayin, Tavien St. Clair, Luke Fahey and Mason Maggs run drills during fall football camp in August. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

Ohio State-USC also represents a unique opportunity for Buckeyes coach Ryan Day to display some of that quarterback development he built so much of his reputation on — and in a hurry. It’s been some time since we’ve really needed to see a backup quarterback play significant snaps for Ohio State, and that didn’t go well at all.

Former Buckeyes Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz combined to complete just 10 of 23 pass attempts for a paltry 106 yards in a 14-3 loss to Missouri in the 2023 Cotton Bowl. Having former Buckeyes wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate out in patterns didn’t seem to matter much then because neither quarterback could provide service — a fact Day was visibly upset about during the game.

USC is just as dangerous as that Missouri team was, and I have no doubt that Day knows that. Still, this is a game that the Buckeyes should expect to win. 

It’s a game the offensive line should relish as its rushing attack will need to be great at the start and finish of this game if a victory is possible for Ohio State. Protection will need to be excellent, and Ohio State needs to demonstrate to me and the committee that it's more than a national placeholder ranked No. 2 — a spot reserved for a team I think can play for the national title.

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