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Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is not just a passenger on his team's ride to a possible Big Ten championship and another College Football Playoff berth. He's a wheelman.

For much of the season, Sayin was looked at as another cog in the machine at Ohio State -- a young QB taking advantage of playing on an offense that surrounded him with elite talent, particularly at the wide receiver position. That was certainly true to start the year. Ohio State opened its season with what looked to be its most difficult game on the schedule against Texas. It was in that game that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes staff took an approach of not putting too much on Sayin's plate.

They've loaded more onto it as the season has progressed, however, and Sayin continues to answer every challenge and excel.

Sayin completed 20 of his 23 pass attempts for 316 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State's 38-14 win over Penn State on Saturday. It's the seventh straight game he's completed at least 70% of his pass attempts, and the fourth time he's finished a game with a completion rate over 85%. It's the fifth time this season he's thrown for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in a game, becoming the first Ohio State QB to do so since CJ Stroud in 2021. Stroud, like Sayin this year, was a redshirt freshman during that season. I'm sure Ohio State would love it if Sayin's career in Columbus follows the same path as Stroud's, though perhaps with a national title or two.

And it's not like he's out there dinking and dunking.

Sayin's performance against Penn State launched him to the lead of the Heisman Trophy odds at multiple sportsbooks, but it's not a reactionary measure. Sayin has been slowly building toward this and has been playing at an elite level for a while now.

His box score stats betray his play in wins over Washington and Illinois. In Seattle, it was clear early that the Huskies weren't going to put up many points, which led to the Buckeyes leaning more on their run game in a tough road environment. Sayin and the Buckeyes' passing attack were happy to make short throws and nick the Huskies' defense at will while it dropped guys deep looking to take away explosives.

Against Illinois, Ohio State's offense was gifted with short fields by the Illini turnovers, so it was impossible to rack up big yardage numbers. He was still remarkably efficient in those games, which is the hallmark of who he is.

It's that efficiency that likely causes some people to look at Sayin as an exceptional game manager, but that viewpoint ignores what truly separates him from so many college quarterbacks. Ohio State's offense has always done a great job of making things "easier" on its quarterbacks, but Sayin shows a high IQ in the offense for somebody who remains relatively inexperienced. The ball is out on time and typically with impeccable placement. It's either going to be caught by his target and give him a chance to get yards after the catch, or it's going to fall incomplete.

Sayin also doesn't force things that aren't there, which is not typical of most freshmen, redshirt or otherwise. He has not thrown an interception since Ohio State's Week 3 win over Ohio. He hasn't even fumbled. In other words, he manages the game while making exceptional plays that few other quarterbacks in the country are capable of.

The last thing other contenders wanted to see this year was an Ohio State team with an incredible defense and NFL talent on offense find itself with an elite QB to boot, but they've got one.