Buckeyes nation, buckle up. The highly anticipated QB1 battle has come to an end. After eight months of tight competition between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Keinholz, one has finally started to gain the edge. “There were times this spring that he felt Kienholz was a little bit ahead of Julian,” Ryan Day had said earlier.” The air was thick with speculation and excitement, for it was Texas, they would kick off their season against. “There’s a little bit of pressure to kind of pick a guy because, you know, you open with Texas,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel had reflected.

Coach Day’s QB1 announcement was surely stretched on, but he wanted the best for the program, and the scrimmage over the weekend showed him the flashes of his new leader. Since both of these quarterbacks were inexperienced, Day made sure to get them as many reps as possible to gauge their abilities to the fullest. “We are trying to get both guys ready to go win the game; we’ll name a starter and go from there, but we need them both, and that’s the goal right now,” the OSU head coach said.  So, who’s the guy?

It seems Lincoln’s momentum couldn’t land him the coveted spot. Julian Sayin has been officially named the starting quarterback for the match-up against the Texas Longhorns. “You see there was a lot of growth made,” Day said. Overall, Julian was more consistent. But there’s more to it. While Julian will lead the offense for sure, Lincoln will also get sufficient game time to boost his resume. WSYX reporter Kellyanne Stitts reported that Lincoln is handling the news well.

“He knows in his heart he’s going to play this year, and he will prepare to play in this game. I wouldn’t say he’s discouraged. The team knows we’re going to need him, and he knows. Excellent leadership on his end,” she said. And the Buckeyes need both of their QBs, that Day made pretty clear. “Our guys are confident again with both quarterbacks; we’ll need both quarterbacks. Lincoln did a lot of great things, but we’re going to name Julian the starter here, give him the majority of the reps with the [starters] and go prepare to beat Texas.”

Sayin recorded 27 snaps over four games, completing 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.  as a freshman last year, while Kienholz hasn’t thrown a pass since the Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri during the 2023 season. But spring drills saw Julian’s bright flashes mixed with lows. Another aspect was his leadership qualities. But that doesn’t mean Lincoln’s arm strength was not noted. He made his mark over the summer, and being called the “Iron Buckeye” is no small feat either. As The Athletic’s Cameron Teague Robinson put it. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Kienholz plays this season in specific packages.”

So, what got Julian Sayin the edge?

Well, coming to the intense battle between the two, the result is hardly surprising. Julian had been touted as the starting quarterback for a while now. But Kienholz’s gained momentum during the spring drills had brought forth a possibility, a hope for him to land the coveted spot. So, what’s Ryan sayin’ (No pun intended). ” Julian has gotten stronger and bigger. He’s learned the offense and is playing faster.” The key takeaway? Consistence. Though Julian’s performance saw some high points, he hit some lows as well. But the consistency peeked out.

And Day’s expectations? “Just win, baby, find a way to win. If it’s 14-13 or 65-64, we have to find a way to win. We aren’t going to worry about the what-ifs; we’re going to let this thing fly and find a way to be 1-0 after that Saturday night.” Julian will begin the season against Steve Sarkisian’s prized weapon, Arch Manning. Another anticipated figure, who is predicted to be the No. 1 2026 NFL Draft pick, and spots his name under the top 3 Heisman contenders. The Buckeyes clinched the natty last season, with Will Howard steering the offense, but now they are faced with a bigger challenge: upholding their dominance.

Yeah, the offense is on full grind, but the D-line is buckling. Inexperienced is what Stephen Means called it. But following former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ departure to Penn State, Day hauled in talent from the NFL’s vault, Josh Boyer. But amid the stress-filled environment at Columbus, Ryan Day went old school to drill motivation into his players. A self-improvement book is what the roster is feasting on presently. ‘Chop Wood Carry Water’ is the name, and as per the head coach, “everybody focuses on that final result and what it looked like and all those things,” Day said. “We needed to get back to the beginning of the process—and focusing on the process and not necessarily focusing on the result.” Let’s see how they fare off against Texas.