Who would’ve thought? The Miami Hurricanes football program is catching a glimpse of its glory days in the Cotton Bowl against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. And it all came off Julian Sayin’s blunder: the first pick-six of his career.

With 12:00 left in the second quarter, Ohio State ripped off a huge 59-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith to move into the red zone. It looked like the Buckeyes were about to score and even things up. On the very next set of downs, after taking a sack, Sayin tried to fire a quick pass to Brandon Inniss.

Keionte Scott read it perfectly. The Miami nickel-back jumped in front of the intended receiver, snagged the ball out of the air, and then took off down the field. He ran the ball all the way back 72 yards for a touchdown. He easily outran everyone on the field.

Not going to lie, you don’t see this type of careless passes from Julian Sayin. The Heisman finalist came into the game with 3,323 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and just six interceptions on the season. He even led the nation in completion percentage – the irony.

With that being said, you need to give props to Mario Cristobal’s defense. They’ve led their conference in most of the defensive categories, especially down the stretch of the season. That front-seven led by Ruben Bain Jr. is as good as they come.

Truth be told, this could be the play that ends Ohio State’s 2026 campaign. The pick-six doubled Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes’ lead to 14–0. Not bad for a team many labeled as the most “undeserving” playoff participant.

Needless to say, it’s still only the second quarter, and there’s plenty of football left to be played. But the college football world is already going insane over what might end up being Julian Sayin’s most costly mistake of the season.

The college football world turns its back on Julian Sayin

What’s even more absurd is that heading into this game, the Buckeyes were heavy favorites. Almost every analyst in the country had Ohio State mopping the floor with Miami. But looking at how things are going, football folks are starting to have second thoughts, especially after Julian Sayin’s pick-six.

The fans started with the blame: “Julian Sayin has held OSU back all year and will hold them back from winning back-to-back.”

Partly true, but it’s also a very gray area. Despite leading the nation with around a 78% completion rate, some Buckeyes fans believe he isn’t performing up to the standards set by C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields.

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Another fan questioned the credibility of the 2025 Heisman race: “Worst group of Heisman finalists of all time led by Julian Sayin.” Fair enough. This season’s Heisman class might be the weakest in the last 15–20 years. A quarterback with around 33 touchdowns and barely 3,000 passing yards wouldn’t sniff Heisman finalist status in most of the past decade.

One fan was genuinely concerned about Sayin’s play since the Big Ten title game: “What the hell has happened since the Indiana game? Julian Sayin looks utterly lost.”

Earlier this month, Curt Cignetti’s defense held Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes to a season-low 10 points. Now it looks like Corey Hetherman’s defense is doing the same. The offensive line isn’t helping either, failing to open lanes for the run game and allowing three sacks.

This fan pointed out Sayin’s biggest flaw, his lack of motion in the pocket: “Julian Sayin can’t make plays with his legs. That’s why they’re losing tonight and why they lost to Indiana.”

Against Miami’s front seven, you need to be able to run for your life. That’s something Sayin struggles with. He’s rushed for minus-29 yards on three attempts. It’s not just him either. The entire Buckeyes’ run game has been horrendous, managing just minus-3 yards on nine rushing attempts. It’s the worst in the last 20 years.

The final fan summed up the Heisman talk with a laugh: “People had Julian Sayin in Heisman discussions 😂.”

As down as this Heisman year has been, there’s still plenty of football left in this game for Ohio State to respond. But if the offensive line doesn’t hold up and the run game doesn’t show up, Julian Sayin could go from the most liked player in Columbus to one of the most hated people in the span of just one month.