Julian Sayin has been nearly flawless through his first four games as the Ohio State starter. What can fans expect from him on Saturday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers?

Ohio State Buckeyes' quarterback Julian Sayin has been surgical through his first four weeks of the 2025 season. The most impressive part of Sayin's game to thus far in the season is the fact that the moment has never felt too big for him.

Sayin has looked composed week in and week out, and which led to his success in his first road game last week against the Washington Huskies. 

Now, the Buckeyes come back home for their first home Big Ten game of the season, and Sayin is up for his next test.

Here's what fans can expect from the young signal caller as they get into the heart of the Big Ten schedule.

Ohio State: Previewing the Buckeyes' Matchup with the Minnesota Golden Gophers The Ohio State Buckeyes head home for a matchup with the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday night inside the Horseshoe. The Gophers' defense is formidable,...

It is very clear that head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline have done their best to protect the young quarterback. The coach staff have spent the first four games of the season playing very conservatively to limit Sayin's chances to make a costly mistake.

The Buckeyes have this luxury because the program's defense is playing at an elite level to kick off the new year. However, at some point in this 2025 season, Ohio State will to need to win a game because of the young talent, which means Day and the offense must prepare him for that moment.

With this in mind, Saturday against Minnesota is the perfect time for Ohio State to take the training wheels off the first-time starter.

Buckeye fans saw glimpses of what Sayin can be when he is "unleashed" against Grambing State, as he completed 17 straight passes to start the game while throwing four touchdowns as in the week two battle. It's safe to say that Grambling State didn't present the biggest challenge for the Buckeyes, and many want to see that version of Sayin against some better competition.

Luckily for the rest of the offense, the best part of Sayin's game is his intermediate accuracy. Every week, he has completed one or two throws that reassures the fanbase of his incredible skill set. His ability to place the football on throws that are between 10 and 30 yards is special, making it something that the Buckeyes can continue to utilize. 

Moving forward, there are two areas that Sayin can continue to improve upon, with the first being his arm strength and deep ball accuracy. Part of the struggle with having elite receivers such as Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate is that they are very easy to under throw when the offense decides to extend the field. Early decision-making, coupled with pushing the ball down the field, will be important for Sayin as he continues to gain experience. 

We saw glimpses against Ohio of him improving in this but still has room to grow.

In addition to his deep ball, Sayin needs to drastically improve his efficiency within in the red zone. There have been multiple occasions this season where Ohio State has reached deep into the red zone and come up with either three or zero points, instead of finding the back of the end zone. This  need to get this fixed immediately, as inability to score touchdowns consistently could come back to haunt them later in the season.

Saturday against Minnesota is another opportunity for Sayin to continue improving and showing that he can lead the Buckeyes back to the top of the mountain.