Arch Manning entered the 2025 college football season as the Heisman Trophy favorite, and Ohio State immediately exposed that for the massive mistake that it was with a 14-7 win over the Longhorns in Columbus. Now, six weeks into the season, a former Heisman Trophy winner thinks that Manning’s counterpart from that Week 1 showdown at the Horseshoe should be the new frontrunner.
Troy Smith took to social media on Tuesday to plead his case for Julian Sayin and throw some shade at Manning and the media machine that placed those lofty expectations on him before the season.
Gotta talk about straight facts. If the kid at Texas would’ve had the start that @juliansayin2 is having here for our @OhioStateFB, he’d be 1st in @Heisman votes, @daveyobrien talks, and any other major Awards at the end of the season, put some respect on what he’s doin..🤨
— Troy Smith (@yn_TroySmith) October 7, 2025
That’s a good sign for Sayin because Smith knows a little something about taking home hardware with his 2006 Heisman Trophy campaign.
Julian Sayin has grown into an elite quarterback
Sayin completed 13 of his 20 passes against Texas for 126 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline held his hand through his first collegiate start against a talented defense. Now, just five weeks later, the redshirt freshman and former five-star has been unleashed.
In the Buckeyes' 42-3 Week 6 win over Minnesota, Sayin had his best performance of the year. He finished 23-for-27 for 326 yards and three touchdowns, and nearly had a perfect QBR. He now has the seventh-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, and the second-best on his team, trailing sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Saturday was Sayin’s second 300+ yard performance and the first to come with no turnovers. His career high for single-game passing yards is still the 347 he put up against Ohio, but he finished that game with two interceptions.
The win over Minnesota was also Sayin’s most aggressive performance, featuring an average depth of target at 11.0 yards downfield and five passes of over 20 yards. He went 3-for-5 on those throws for 121 yards and a touchdown. He’s been lethal when he’s been empowered to push the ball deep this season, and with the wide receiver he has to throw to, that should be terrifying to the rest of the country.
Sayin still has plenty of time to make his case for the Heisman Trophy, but he misses head-to-head matchups with the Big Ten’s other two QB candidates, Oregon’s Dante Moore and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Those two star QBs will match up on Saturday in Eugene, a game that could create an opening for Sayin to shoot further up the betting odds board.