Julian Sayin is going to make his first ever college football start in Week 1. He won the starting job for the Ohio State Buckeyes, so he is tasked with defending the title that QB Will Howard transferred in and helped them win. That's one thing, but up first in that task is the literal number one team in the country.
A loss in Week 1 doesn't make or break the season, especially with the 12-team playoff now. But if Sayin is able to guide OSU to a victory and beat the top-seeded Texas Longhorns, he will do something only one other college football quarterback has ever done. According to Joel Klatt, the only QB to make his first collegiate start and beat the number one team was Jim Harbaugh for Michigan in 1984.
"I'm not sure if Ohio State fans or Julian Sayin will want to be in the same sentence with Jim Harbaugh, but I'm sure he's going to want to win on Saturday," Klatt joked.
The analyst also added that Sayin is taking over a "really good" Ryan Day offense, but he'll need to make use of it. He has "the best player in college football" at his disposal in Jeremiah Smith, who Klatt suggested see the ball early and often on Saturday.
In the College Football Playoff Semifinal between these two teams last year, Howard could only get Smith the ball for one catch and three yards, so Sayin will be tasked not only with doing something historic but also making sure his star playmaker gets the ball more this time.