Upset Looms for Julian Sayin’s Ohio State as Rival QB Draws $230M NFL Star Comparison

Top-ranked Ohio State will be facing there first tough opponent after the Texas Longhorns this week. They roll into Seattle with a 3-0 record behind the newly minted starter Julian Sayin, while the Washington Huskies also enter the matchup with a 3-0 record, with blowout wins with an underrated phenom in Demond Williams Jr.. The early results for the Huskies add up to a resume that looks worthy of sitting in the top-25 in the AP Polls, but this matchup will definitely lay their potential to bare, to crack the rankings.

“Traveling to Washington. It’s one of the most underrated places to play in college football in terms of difficulty because of where it is. I think one thing that has to start here in order to win this game confidently and to keep Washington at arm’s distance, you have to be prepared to play great contain on Williams.” Joe DeLeone argued on The Ruffino and Joe Show. The data backs him up, too. Washington is churning out 260 rush yards per game while allowing just 62.7. The Huskies control the tempo in the Husky Stadium, and the Buckeyes haven’t had good luck with long travel distance matchups anyway (Oregon, last year). For Julian Sayin, it’ll be difficult to count the snaps amid 70,000 fans chanting ‘purple reigns’

DeLeone continued, “He is so similar to Kyler Murray. So similar. He is small. He is annoyingly shifty. He is going to slip away from you even if you feel like you’ve played the right degree of contain. You’ve done everything right.” That comparison is not a hyperbole in any way. Ryan Day and DC Matt Patricia have made literally the same comparison to the $230 million star this week. Patricia said, “They’ve got good players to get the ball to, so that’s going to be a huge challenge for us. Even when you think, you watch the tape, you think you’ve kind of got him bottled up, he can get out. And that reminds me a lot of Kyler Murray.”

Williams is listed at 5-11 with a superb lefty whip and instant acceleration. He has paired high-efficiency throwing with chunk runs, including a 298-yard, 4-TD performance in the Apple Cup. Moreover, if you didn’t remember, this is the guy who won the Air-It-Out challenge in the Manning Passing Academy earlier this year.

Most fans assume that Ohio State is the favorite going into this matchup. But the fact is, fans have to acknowledge that the Huskies have that immense potential of causing an upset. Blake Ruffino even went on to say out loud what fans have been thinking. “The Huskies are going to find a way to upset Ohio State this week. You book it. The three-headed monster of [Demond] Williams, [Adam] Mohammed, and [Jonah] Coleman is going to find a way. They’re ninth in the country in rushing. They’re ninth in the country in defending the run, and that place is going to be hostile. I’m going with the upset.” Well, Coleman has 347 rushing yards and a 6.8 ypc, Mohammed is a legit change-up up and add Denzel Boston, who just posted 107 yards with 2 scores, and you’ve got a roster ready to go anytime, anywhere.

And all of this funnels back to Julian Sayin. This is the first truly nasty road chore for the new starter. With Washington at home, a cross-country travel, a time change, and a top 10 run profile, Julian Sayin has everything going against him. This will be challenging. Plus, Julian Sayin has been a regular on the interceptions list. The Huskies won’t forgive a turnover. If Ohio State contains Williams and stops the rushes, which chip yardage slowly, then the No. 1 position likely holds for another week. If not, the Huskies have forever been waiting to crack the top 25 anyway.

OSU’s travel reset

Last year’s 32-31 gut punch was enough for Ryan Day and Co. to realize that they cannot underestimate a hostile travel schedule, noise, and late-game management. That one final snap when Will Howard’s scramble failed to crystallize as the time bled out was exactly the thing that should not be happening this year, especially when you’re defending the natty and are capable of it. And that’s why Ryan Day has gone with a different plan this time around.

“Ohio State will travel to Washington on Thursday. The Buckeyes traveled on Friday for their regular-season trip to Oregon last year,” Dan Hope relayed.  The logic is practical. This schedule gives OSU players a good chunk of time to rest up before they get to Seattle. Moreover, they will also be able to adjust their body clock, ease into the environment, visualise the field, and rehearse the silent counts before the game.

One cannot underestimate the importance of one extra night of sleep and one extra walk through with the signals. This change is practical and increases Ohio State’s chances to do what they are projected to do: dominate.