Ohio State cruised past a 5-6 Rutgers yesterday in a blowout 42-9 win. It was a game of lesser importance in terms of Big 10 title contention or a playoff berth for Ohio State. However, for Ryan Day’s QB1 Julian Sayin, the Week 13 showing carried a lot of weight. But, since Ryan Day decided to rotate QBs, fielding Lincoln Kienholz, Sayin’s Heisman hopes were put on a back burner.

Coming into the Rutgers game, Sayin had 2,675 passing yards to his name at around 80% efficiency. Not to mention, the QB had some explosive games against teams like Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Penn State, passing for 300+ yards. Against Rutgers, Sayin could have easily passed for 350+ yards, bolstering his Heisman odds. But Ryan Day chose to limit him, possibly to preserve him for Michigan on 29th November. That, however, has affected his Heisman odds.

According to recent Heisman rankings by CaesarSports, the Ohio State QB1 is listed as third with +450 odds to win the coveted trophy. Indiana QB1 Fernando Mendoza is ranked first with -105 odds, whereas an unexpected contender emerged in the second position, where Sayin could have been. Notre Dame’s RB Jeremiyah Love, after his 171 rushing yard performance against Syracuse, is listed as second. The junior has +400 odds to win the trophy and has surpassed Sayin. But earlier it wasn’t the case.

Even going into the Rutgers game, Ryan Day was hinting about suiting up Lincoln Kienholz for the game. “Played well. Threw a couple of really nice balls. … Was very physical on the sideline. I told him, let’s not ever do that again unless it’s fourth down, but he’s a competitive guy, you can see it. Good to see him get on the field, get some run,” said Day about Kienholz’s performances in the practice. But if Ryan Day had played Julian Sayin fully, he may well have been nearing Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman odds.

Going into the Rutgers game, Julian Sayin was listed with +225 to win the trophy behind Mendoza’s +100 odds. Jeremiyah Love, particularly, was far behind in the list and was listed with +1800 odds to win the iconic trophy. A 300 to 350+ yard performance by Sayin could have easily brought him under 150+ odds to win the trophy. It was also important since for Sayin to do the same in the games against Michigan or Indiana would be a Herculean challenge. Sure, Lincoln Kienholz provided that rushing threat against Rutgers, notching up 37 yards. But was it even needed?

OSU insiders get furious with Ryan Day over Julian Sayin decision

Julian Sayin went for a meagre 157 yards in the game, despite OSU being a 30.5+ point favourite. Notably, for Sayin, going onto the sidelines came quite early. The Buckeyes were leading 7-2, and Ryan Day switched to Kienholz in a fourth-down situation. Mind you, Kienholz didn’t even complete that fourth-down pass; however, the Buckeyes still managed to get a first down after a penalty call. Many still tout that Sayin doesn’t yet have a signature Heisman moment, too, something the Buckeyes QB could have created against Rutgers.

“The Lincoln Kienholz package to throw in an 11-point game when you have a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback? I get wanting to give Michigan things to think about, but you have to actually win this game first. It seems to me, you’d want to run the Lincoln Kienholz throws the ball plays when you have your best receivers in and have your uber-accurate quarterback throw to second-string receivers,” wrote OSU beat reporter for CBS Sports, Patrick Murphy, on X. The verdict?

The voting for Heisman ballots will end on December 8th, which signals Sayin still has two games to prove himself. First is obviously the Michigan game on the road, and the last would be the Big 10 championship game on 6th December. Ohio State will most likely make it to the game and would face Indiana. It would then be interesting to see a battle between two close Heisman contenders.

Or maybe previously close, now distant two Heisman contenders? Can Julian Sayin have his Heisman moment there against Indiana? No one knows. But OSU fans should also watch out for Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. He is signalling his intentions clearly to win the Heisman by striking up the iconic Heisman pose against Syracuse yesterday.