MADISON, Wis. — If Julian Sayin hadn’t already established himself as a Heisman Trophy contender, the Ohio State quarterback certainly strengthened his case Saturday.
“He’s the truth,” Carnell Tate said after catching two of Sayin’s four touchdown passes in the top-ranked Buckeyes’ 34-0 victory over Wisconsin. “He’s the Heisman winner, ain’t no questions, ifs, ands or doubts. Each and every week, he goes out and proves he’s the Heisman winner.”
Tate may be a bit biased after catching six of Sayin’s passes for 111 yards against Wisconsin. But in his first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Sayin is putting up numbers that demand Heisman consideration.
Sayin went 36 of 42 for a career-high 393 yards against the struggling Badgers. He has completed 80% of his passes this season for 19 touchdowns with three interceptions.
Of course, it helps to be throwing to two of college football’s top receivers.
Jeremiah Smith is a Heisman contender in his own right in an impressive follow-up to his sensational freshman season. Tate helped put Saturday’s game away early by scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter.
“We’ve got two guys who, when it’s one-on-one and you’re looking both sides, I have full confidence that both these guys are going to go score a touchdown for us,” Sayin said.
Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) has an average margin of 25.8 points during an 11-game winning streak, which started with its four College Football Playoff victories during its run to the national title last season.
The Buckeyes have won their first seven games by an average margin of 30.6 points.
“That’s collectively as good a team as I’ve prepared for or played against in all phases, just across the board,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said.
Wisconsin (2-5, 0-4) has suffered back-to-back shutout losses for the first time since 1977, when the Badgers fell 42-0 to Ohio State and 22-0 to Purdue in successive weeks. Wisconsin was coming off a 37-0 home loss to Iowa.
The Badgers have lost their last five games by an average margin of 25.2 points and have dropped their last 10 matchups against Power Four teams.
“To not find a way to put points on the board will never give us a chance,” Fickell said. “We know we have to find a way to be able to do that, and we’ve got to get a hell of a lot better at it.”
Ohio State outgained Wisconsin 491-144.
This loss was painful for the Badgers in multiple respects, as injured running back Darrion Dupree missed the game and running back Dilin Jones left in the first half with an upper-body injury. Fickell said after the game that outside linebacker Christian Alliegro broke his arm in the first half and kept playing.
Sayin passed to Tate for a 33-yard touchdown on Ohio State’s first drive and a 10-yard score with four seconds left in the opening quarter. Both touchdowns came in third-down situations.
On Tate’s first touchdown, he caught a third-and-11 pass across the middle between two defenders and hung on despite losing his helmet as he came down.
Sayin also threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Will Kacmarek late in the third quarter and a 13-yarder to Brandon Inniss in the fourth.
The takeaway
Ohio State: The Buckeyes are allowing just 5.9 points per game, the lowest average for any FBS team. They had no trouble shutting down a Wisconsin team that has scored just 13.3 points per game, the lowest average for any Power Four program.
Wisconsin: The Badgers were outscored 17-0 in the first quarter for a second straight week, never giving themselves a chance of competing. A brutal schedule will make it tough for them to turn things around. The visit from the Buckeyes started a four-game stretch in which Wisconsin plays three teams ranked eighth or better: Ohio State, No. 8 Oregon and No. 3 Indiana.
Up next
- Ohio State: Off next week before playing host to Penn State on Nov. 1.
- Wisconsin: At No. 8 Oregon on Saturday.
Originally Published:
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