Julian Sayin is expected to be out for the rest of the college football regular season, but that’s not a guarantee. Especially not after an update from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who explained that Sayin is progressing well and “healing” from the undisclosed injury, while speaking on “The Ryan Day Show” on 97.1 The Fan.
“…all things considered, the outcome with different options that we were kind of going into the situation thinking it could be, I think this has been a decent outcome for us and for him. And so, we’ll let him go through that,” Day detailed. “But this thing looks to be healing. It’s not going to be next week or next month. It’s going to take some time. But I think, certainly for the long term, we feel like we’re on a good track here.”
Luke Fahey threw for 260 yards and one touchdown while completing 55% of his passes against USC; Sayin had averaged 295 yards and a 71% completion rate in the six full games before his injury. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Given that timeline, the earliest Sayin would return is January. Which means that the Buckeyes would have to earn a College Football Playoff berth without their starting quarterback, and then survive the playoff long enough to get him back. The first round begins on Dec. 18, over a month from Day’s statement, but the quarterfinals are not until Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, with the semifinals beginning in mid-January. Realistically, if Sayin is healing and progressing from injury, there is a chance for him to return – No. 12 Ohio State just has to still be there for him to return to.
Sayin injured his throwing arm in an Ohio State win over Indiana in Week 7. It was a significant blow to the Buckeyes: Ohio State suffered its second loss of the season in Week 9 against USC, in part because Luke Fahey couldn’t reach star wideout Jeremiah Smith for game-changing catches on a day the defense uncharacteristically faltered.
Now, the Buckeyes find themselves already in a playoff-esque situation, as the 6-2 team cannot afford another loss without falling out of College Football Playoff contention, given Ohio State already ranked 12th in the committee’s initial reveal.
The Buckeyes face Oregon on Saturday at home, then host Northwestern. Ohio State heads to Nebraska for Week 12, then hosts Michigan for “The Game” in the regular season’s final week, and it will have to come away victorious in all of them without Sayin on the field.
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