Julian Sayin and the Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a 31-14 road victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday to bring their record to 4-1 on the season. Sayin completed 20-of-27 passes for 324 passing yards and three touchdowns, with superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith dominating the matchup.
Smith finished with 11 catches for 206 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, all game highs. Smith set all-time Ohio State career records against Iowa, breaking Chris Olave’s record of 35 career receiving touchdowns and Emeka Egbuka’s 205-catch mark. Smith now officially has the all-time record in all three triple-crown wide receiver categories with 207 catches for 3,381 yards and 36 receiving touchdowns.
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With a top target like that, it’s easy for people to overlook the play of their quarterback, Sayin. On Monday, Ohio State decided to highlight its 6-foot-1 quarterback on social media. In a post on Instagram, the Buckeyes announced that the 21-year-old was one of eight college football quarterbacks named “Stars of the Week” for the weekly Manning Award.
This is the second week in a row that Sayin has been named a Manning Award Star of the Week for his tremendous 367-passing-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The full list of the Week 5 Stars of the Week is listed below:
- Braden Atkinson – Oregon State
- CJ Bailey – NC State
- CJ Carr – Notre Dame
- Marcus Stokes – Memphis
- Austin Simmons – Missouri
- Julian Sayin – Ohio State
- Gunner Stockton – Georgia
- DJ Lagway – Baylor
The award is an annual college football honor presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top collegiate quarterback and is named after legendary quarterback Archie “Arch” Manning and his sons, Peyton and Eli.
“Back to back ⭐️ of the week,” The Ohio State Buckeyes wrote in the Instagram caption.
Head coach Ryan Day will have his top-five-ranked Buckeyes ready to host the 2-3 Maryland Terrapins at Ohio Stadium on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. ET, with coverage on BTN (Big Ten Network).
