Ohio State is the only team yet to show any signs of weakness or pressure so far. The Buckeyes are 7-0, one of only five remaining undefeated teams. Ryan Day is confident that the Buckeyes can roll into any stadium and easily steamroll just about anyone, except maybe Indiana, Oregon, or Alabama. Despite being the No. 1 team in college football, Ohio State and quarterback Julian Sayin are getting robbed of an SEC-level spotlight.

On October 20th, NFL analyst Todd McShay hopped onto his namesake podcast and claimed that Julian Sayin’s draft stock is being robbed because of the team’s noon-heavy schedule. He started by urging fans to buy Sayin’s stock, saying, “I didn’t know until October 19, when I actually sat down and watched the tape by Julian Sayin. Stock, now you’re all in, this is my PSA.” The freshman gunslinger is finally letting the pigskin rip and playing his best football after earning his coaches’ trust with his accuracy.

The former five-star recruit put up his best performance yet against Wisconsin over the weekend. Sayin threw for 393 yards, completed 36 of his 42 passes, and tossed four touchdowns. But according to McShay, a lot of college football fans are missing out, and that might hurt his Heisman chances. The reason? Those dreaded noon kickoffs.

Todd McShay doubled down and explained: “I think because we have Georgia, Ole Miss, and we have all like Alabama, Tennessee and USC, Notre Dame and Ohio State schedule just isn’t it isn’t that it’s kind of flying under the radar. They’re playing noon games or 3:30 kicks, and it’s Wisconsin, and they’re just, they’re not in the spotlight like Ohio State typically was. Ohio State really hasn’t been in the spotlight since week one against Texas in terms of, like, big time opponent, challenge, all that.” The Buckeyes’ matchup with Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin kicked off at 3:30 ET, which, to be honest, is not exactly a pick on anyone’s calendar.

The majority of their games are played at noon. In fact, even their rivalry game against Michigan is played at 12.00 pm ET. Why? Because of the Big 10’s deal with Fox, which puts their biggest games on at noon ET. For a lot of fans, that feels less special than a prime-time game. On the flip side, the SEC has a big-money deal with ESPN, which means their biggest games often get those classic afternoon or prime-time slots.

Ohio State fans and even Ohio lawmakers are frustrated with so many noon kickoffs, but it’s due to the Big Ten’s TV deal with Fox. The network wants its biggest game in the noon slot to avoid competing with SEC prime-time games, making Ohio State a victim of its own conference’s broadcast strategy. Because of that, Todd McShay believes Julian Sayin’s stock isn’t rising the way it should. Still, that doesn’t mean people aren’t noticing his Heisman-worthy play. In fact, he’s right there at the top.

Julian Sayin’s Heisman campaign is picking up pace

With that performance against Wisconsin, it’s getting harder to turn a blind eye or look in other directions. The second-year QB leads the nation with the highest completion rate (78.8%). According to BetMGM, Sayin is going toe-to-toe with Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, with all three sitting at +300 odds.

Other sportsbooks like Caesars, FanDuel, and Fox Sports Bet have Julian Sayin as the third favorite. That was before Ryan Day and the Buckeyes started loosening the reins. Now, with Ryan Day and Brian Hartline’s full trust, Sayin is on pace to put up elite numbers. 35-plus touchdowns easily based on the remaining schedule.

So far this season, Julian Sayin has passed for 1,872 yards, 19 touchdowns (third in the nation) with just three interceptions. He also earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. If Ohio State gives him more control and freedom to air it out, the 20-year-old could easily pad his stats with more touchdowns by the end of the season.