The Ohio State Buckeyes landed their two Heisman finalists on Monday as Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith were invited to New York
The Ohio State Buckeyes began their Heisman campaigns for their star signal caller, quarterback Julian Sayin, midway through the season. On Monday, it became official that Sayin was invited to New York City and is among the final list of players eligible to win the Heisman Trophy.
Sayin joins quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Diego Pavia, along with running back Jeremiyah Love in New York City.
This incredible run from the redshirt freshman, however, began the year as a major question mark for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
He had the hardest job in all of college football. He had the responsibility of replacing the National Championship quarterback, Will Howard. He also had to do it on an offense that lost its two best offensive linemen, its second-best wide receiver, its two star running backs, and nearly its entire defense.
Sayin immediately had the answers to the test.
In his very first game, he got the opportunity to take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. He didn't do anything special in that matchup; he just did enough to win the football game. After that, he began to ooze with confidence.
Two huge performances against Grambling State and Ohio University set the scene for his first big road test, the Washington Huskies. He went into Seattle and took down the Huskies with a steady hand.
Sayin then ripped off wins against Illinois and Wisconsin before coming home and taking down Minnesota, UCLA, and Rutgers, setting him up for The Game with the Michigan Wolverines. He started slow and then went off against the Buckeyes' hated rival. His regular season was nearly flawless before stubbing his toe against the Indiana Hoosiers.
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This year, Sayin finished with 3,323 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He completed a college football record 78 percent of his passes while nearly leading the Buckeyes to a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking. Although they came up short against Indiana, Ohio State seemingly has a great chance to repeat as National Champions.
Sayin was everything that the Buckeyes could have ever hoped for. He has incredible poise for a young quarterback and had a very small learning curve. He operated the Buckeyes' offense at an incredibly high and efficient level and has them feeling very good heading into the Playoffs.
Going into the vote, it doesn't look good for the lone Buckeye. Indiana quarterback Mendoza has the shortest odds at -1000, followed by Pavia at +600, Love checks in with +15,000 odds, while Sayin is +70,000 to win the award.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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