Ohio State football won its 26th-straight season opener in its matchup against Texas, but there was some more history that was made after the victory. Julian Sayin became the first quarterback to make his first career start against the No. 1 team and win since 1984. To make things even more interesting, the quarterback in 1984 was Jim Harbaugh.
First-time starters were 0-16 facing the No. 1 team in the nation since 2010, and it's been a total of 41 years since a quarterback starting for the first time got a win against the No. 1 team.
Sayin finished the game completing 13 of his 20 passing attempts for 126 yards and one touchdown. There were several times throughout the game where his receivers, such as Jeremiah Smith and Max Klare, dropped his passes, but the most important catch happened in the fourth quarter when Carnell Tate scored a 40-yard touchdown.
“Before the drive they let me know, ‘Hey, this might be coming,’” Sayin said via Stephen Means of cleveland.com. “We had done a great job in practice earlier that week repping that play. Carnell made a great catch, and the offensive line protected me well upfront.”
The goal for Sayin was to keep the game simple, and that was what head coach Ryan Day had planned for him. With a conservative game plan, Ohio State walked away with a win against a team that many people were excited to watch. The Ohio State defense made things hard for Arch Manning, and he wasn't able to get into a real rhythm at any point in the game.
For Ohio State, the hope is that they continue to open up the playbook more as the season goes on, and that should build more confidence in Sayin.
It was a good way to start the season, and there were some things to be happy about when watching Sayin.
