Ohio State’s quarterback Julian Sayin may be a Heisman finalist, but he certainly wasn’t thinking about his chances at the prestigious award after his team’s 13-10 loss to Indiana on Dec. 6. During an availability on Wednesday, Sayin said he felt sick about his team’s loss to the undefeated Hoosiers.
“I was just sick to my stomach that we lost,” Sayin said. “We really wanted to win the conference for our university, so it was definitely a tough loss, but (we) move on and we have more games to play.”
Sayin had a decent performance in Ohio State’s loss. The redshirt freshman threw for 258 yards, a touchdown and an interception while completing 21 of 29 passes. However, he did take a season-high five sacks in the loss, and he and the rest of the offense struggled in the red zone. Sayin said he still thinks about plays he could have executed better against Indiana.
“There are definitely so many plays that if we just made, I feel like we would have the opportunity (to win the game), but we just didn’t execute at the highest level, and we didn’t play our best football on offense. I think our defense played well, and they gave us the opportunity to win. As an offense, we didn’t play our best football, so we have to make sure things get corrected so we can play better in the next few weeks.”
Sayin, who specifically pointed out third downs and the red zone as areas that Ohio State wanted to improve upon, also gave credit to Indiana’s defense for consistently pressuring him.
“They have a very good pass rush,” Sayin said. “They’re very quick, and they play really hard, and have high motors. I think their defense is a talented defense, and they play really well. I think just their scheme, combined with their players, gave us some problems, and they did a really good job getting after me.”
The Buckeyes will still play in the College Football Playoffs despite the loss. The Buckeyes will either face Miami (Fla.) or Texas A&M at the Cotton Bowl in the quarterfinals of the playoffs on Dec. 31.
It isn’t the first time Ohio State has had to deal with a loss before the College Football Playoffs. Last year, the Buckeyes suffered a shocking 13-10 loss to Michigan before winning four straight games in the playoffs. Sayin said he hopes to elevate his play during the playoffs, much like his predecessor, Will Howard, did during the postseason.
“As a quarterback, you have to rise to the occasion,” Sayin said. “I think we say here, ‘The best players play their best in the biggest games,’ so you have to rise to the occasion.”
