Saturday Belongs to Julian Sayin — and All of College Football Is Watching

Saturday belongs to Julian Sayin. How it's remembered depends entirely on how the Ohio State quarterback performs against No. 1-ranked Texas in the most anticipated game of the season’s first half.

Not only is this a rematch of their 2024 College Football Playoff clash — won by Ohio State — it marks the first regular-season meeting between these storied programs in 20 years. That last encounter ended in a resounding Texas win, punctuated by the rise of Vince Young in one of the most electrifying performances in college football history.

Texas' current starting QB, Arch Manning, has been analyzed from every angle. Julian Sayin? He hasn’t even started a college game. That changes Saturday, when the former five-star — the No. 1 QB in his class and Nick Saban’s final quarterback recruit — steps into the spotlight at Ohio Stadium.

Sayin, who appeared in just four total games during the 2024 season, was always going to face Texas. Whether it comes this year or next, the Longhorns are the top team in the SEC and are favored to win the conference. Still, it’s telling that Saban believed Sayin was ready to play before most thought he could — or should.

According to a passage in "The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football’s Era of Chaos" — Sayin turned down enormous NIL offers from other schools to sign with Alabama as part of the 2024 class because he had longed to play for Saban since he was a child. It also details the story of Saban’s wife, Terry, telling a friend the couple wished Sayin was already on the roster and could have played in the team's 10-point defeat to Texas in 2023.

That’s how much confidence Saban had in Sayin when he was coming out of high school.

Now, set to make the first start of his career