If Ohio State is undefeated in the regular season, Julian Sayin will win the Heisman Trophy

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From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about cause and effect. We will explore domino-effect scenarios that could impact OSU’s season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If This, Then That” articles here.

Ohio State has a rich history when it comes to the Heisman Trophy. Since the prestigious award was first given out in 1935 to the top player in college football, seven Buckeyes over the years have won the “Golden Stiffarm”. Les Horvath was the first Ohio State player to win the Heisman, while Troy Smith was the last Buckeye to lift the trophy in 2006. Ohio State is the only school with a two-time Heisman Trophy winner, as Archie Griffin won the award in 1974 and 1975.

Last year, Ohio State saw three players finish in the top-10. Julian Sayin was fourth in the voting, Jeremiah Smith finished sixth, and Caleb Downs finished ninth. Of those that finished in the top-10 in voting, there are only four returning for the 2026 college football season. Sayin, Smith, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

With a little more than three months to go before Ohio State kicks off its season, Julian Sayin currently has +1200 odds to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy according to FanDuel, which is tied with Josh Hoover of Indiana and Dante Moore of Oregon for fourth-lowest odds. The only players with lower odds than Sayin and the two Big Ten quarterbacks are Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr, Arch Manning, and Chambliss.

Last season in his first season as a starting quarterback in college, Julian Sayin completed 77 percent of his passes, which is the third-best mark in the FBS all-time, for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns. After a season-opening win over top-ranked Texas in Columbus in a game that was a defensive slugfest, the Ohio State schedule wasn’t very impressive. The only other notable wins were road victories over Illinois and Michigan.

Heading into the Big Ten Championship Game, many were thinking that the winner of the game between Ohio State and Indiana would not only earn the top seed in the College Football Playoff, but the quarterback of the winner would also go on to win the Heisman Trophy. The Hoosiers would beat the Buckeyes 13-10 in Indianapolis, and Fernando Mendoza would be announced as the Heisman winner a week later.

Unlike last season, Ohio State’s schedule this year is loaded. After the season opener against Ball State, the Buckeyes head to Texas for another battle with the Longhorns. When Ohio State enters Big Ten play, they have road games at Iowa, Indiana, USC, and Nebraska. As if that wasn’t tough enough, the Buckeyes will host Illinois, Oregon, and Michigan. There undoubtedly will be plenty of spotlight games for Sayin and Ohio State this season.

If the Buckeyes are able to go undefeated in the regular season, it’s going to be hard to make a case for anyone else in college football to win the Heisman Trophy other than Sayin. After an amazing first season as the starting quarterback of one of the premier college football programs in the country, expect the California native to be even better in 2026. Not only will Sayin have even more confidence leading the huddle and taking snaps, but he also has a creative mind in Arthur Smith as his new offensive coordinator.

Along with being more comfortable running the offense, Sayin has a lot of weapons to work with. Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, and Chris Henry Jr. at wide receiver, along with running backs Bo Jackson and Isaiah West. Sayin will also be taking snaps behind an offensive line that will be looking to redeem itself after an awful finish to last season in losses to Indiana and Miami.

Many around Buckeye Nation are probably wondering, “What about Jeremiah Smith?” Obviously, Smith is the most dynamic wide receiver in the country, and his Heisman odds currently sit at +1300. Working against Smith is the Heisman Trophy hasn’t been kind to wide receivers over the years. The last true receiver to win the award was DeVonta Smith in 2020, which was a season that was the strangest season we’ve ever seen because of COVID-19. Travis Hunter won in 2024, but he was also a cornerback at Colorado.

Four of the last five Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks. Since 1962, 35 Heisman winners were quarterbacks, while just three of the winners were true wide receivers. For Smith to win over Sayin, either Smith will have to have some incredible Heisman moments, or Sayin will have to get injured at some point, and Smith will truly have to carry the Ohio State offense. At least Smith will likely be the Big Ten Receiver of the Year for the third straight season, and can set his sights on finally winning the Biletnikoff Award.

Just imagine if Ohio State is able to go undefeated during the regular season. That will mean Sayin will win head-to-head matchups against Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Josh Hoover, and Jayden Maiava. It’ll be hard to imagine there being a better resumé out there if Sayin and the Buckeyes can win all those matchups, and the rest of the games on their regular-season schedule.

I’m not saying that we can start etching Sayin’s name on the award, but backing the Buckeye quarterback to win the award would be a very smart move.

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