The buzz in Columbus has turned into a full-throttle campaign. After a 38-14 win over Penn State, the Ohio State football team openly pushed Julian Sayin’s Heisman case, a move that drew notice from NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach.
She highlighted why the momentum is real, citing Sayin’s FBS-leading 80.7 percent completion rate, a top-three mark in touchdown passes at 23, and elite explosiveness on throws of 40 yards or more. The Buckeyes are 8-0, 5-0 in the Big Ten, and the defending national champions, which keeps the stage bright for their quarterback.
The betting and ballot signals are now pointing in the same direction. Brett McMurphy of On3 noted that, via Kalshi, Sayin sits at 37 percent to win the Heisman, ahead of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza at 23 percent, Alabama’s Ty Simpson at 13 percent, and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed at 6 percent.
On3’s Pete Nakos listed his ballot this week as 1) Julian Sayin, 2) Ty Simpson, 3) Fernando Mendoza, 4) Jeremiyah Love, 5) Dante Moore, 6) Haynes King, 7) Marcel Reed, 8) Darian Mensah, 9) Jeremiah Smith, 10) David Bailey.
Production backs the hype. Sayin has thrown for 2,188 yards with 23 touchdowns against three interceptions, and he just carved up Penn State for 316 yards while hitting four scores. The efficiency matches the eye test, with ball placement and rhythm throws turning routine drives into points.
Ryan Day has said if Sayin keeps playing at this level, he belongs in the conversation, a stance that sounds less like politeness and more like a read of the field.
The path matters too. The Ohio State football team still has Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, and Michigan left, a slate that offers both runway and risk. Another clean month would make it difficult for voters to look elsewhere, especially if Sayin maintains the accuracy edge that is separating him from the pack.
The national reaction after the Penn State game captured the shift. “Julian Sayin is a dude, need to talk about him more,” said Ryan Clark, while On3’s Ari Wasserman framed him not as an emerging talent but as one of the best quarterbacks in the country right now. The drumbeat feels different, more certain, and it is arriving as the calendar turns to games that define legacies.
If the Buckeyes keep stacking wins and Sayin continues to pair fireworks with mistake-free football, the conversation may move from favorite to foregone. November will decide trophies, and Ohio State’s quarterback has placed himself at the center of that decision.
