Ohio State took Minnesota behind the woodshed in a primetime 42-3 victory in Ohio Stadium and the Dubgate remains undefeated.
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JUST SAYIN (← 11W said that...
)
As great as Smith and Tate have been for Ohio State, that doesn't happen without solid quarterback play and Julian Sayin just keeps getting better and better as the Ryan Day / Brian Hartline game plans continue giving him more and more rope.
Against what was supposedly the nation's 26th-best pass defense, Sayin completed 23-of-27 throws for 326 yards and three touchdowns. His 85.2% completion rate was only his second-most accurate game of the season, if that tells you anything. Already the nation's most accurate passer coming into last night's game, Sayin's season completion rate is now up to 80.2%. Making that stat more impressive, Sayin is No. 3 in the country in yards per attempt at 10.4.
Last week against Washington, Sayin wasn't as explosive as he prioritized taking care of the football on the road and maybe even missed a chance at a few downfield shots as he completed just three passes over 15 yards and none over 20. That said, he was throwing downfield dots at will versus the Gophers. And while he completed four passes over 30 yards last night, my favorite throw was this 29-yarder over the middle to Max Klare.
Sayin knew he was going to take a pop but calmly stood tall in the pocket, planted his back foot, unleashed a missile and took the hit.
Big time play. And it still feels like he's just getting warmed up.
Sayin's seven completions of at least 15 yards were a season high as were his 233 yards on those chunk plays. This was especially nice to see after just three such completions for 55 yards last weekend in Seattle.
I said after the Ohio game I wouldn't be surprised if Sayin finished top-10 in Heisman voting this year. I'm now leaning toward I'll be very surprised if he
doesn't finish in the top 10.
Just sayin': Definitely a "big time play" and he is only going to get better.
