The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers are locked in a close battle for the SEC Championship, and this game could decide the Heisman winner between Julian Sayin and Fernando Mendoza. The Buckeyes led early, but the Hoosiers started tightening their defense and forcing Julian Sayin to make some costly mistakes. These mistakes might have cost him the Heisman.
According to Danny Kanell, the Heisman candidate was already sacked five times during the game, and that was just in the first three quarters. He also pointed out that Sayin had only been sacked just six times for the entire year, making that stat all the more jarring.
Julian Sayin was sacked 6 times all year. He’s already been sacked 5 times by Indiana and we’re still in the 3rd quarter.
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) December 7, 2025
The Ohio State offensive line has done a great job at protecting Julian Sayin, but somehow, Indiana found a way to get past that and sack the sophomore quarterback. While this could be used to suggest that Ohio State’s offensive linemen have failed in protecting their quarterback, it could also reflect poorly on Sayin’s Heisman prospects, as this could be seen as a sign that Sayin is not as good a leader as many thought he was.
Since their early success in the game, Ohio State has not scored ever since Indiana had tightened its defense, with the Hoosiers even taking the lead into the fourth quarter. This showed that Sayin struggled in getting through that Indiana defense, which has so far been the x-factor for the Hoosiers.
Sayin is locked in a tight contest against Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who earlier got hurt in the first play of the game, only to return to raucous cheers. One could argue that Sayin looked like he is floundering against Indiana’s defense, while Mendoza is toughing it out, making the Indiana QB look like a stronger contender.
Diego Pavia Just Overtook Fernando Mendoza & Julian Sayin In The Heisman Rankings
While Mendoza is looking stronger than Sayin during that game, both of them were actually struggling. Because of this, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia really did not have to do anything, as BetMGM now placed him atop the Heisman rankings, over Sayin and Mendoza.
Pavia now has a -110 betting chance to win the coveted trophy, though things could still change as the fourth quarter of the Ohio State vs. Indiana game is still ongoing as of writing.
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