Putting Up Numbers· college football

Ohio State’s points allowed with Julian Sayin and without Julian Sayin

, ,

Against what the season’s ratings expected, Ohio State was 3.9 points under with Julian Sayin and 2.3 points under without Julian Sayin over its last 25 games, 20 games against 4. The plain averages are 10.7 and 22.0, a difference of 11.3. All 11 home games were with Julian Sayin. All 16 games on a normal week were with Julian Sayin.

Julian Sayin, quarterback: 5,617 passing yards, 583 pass attempts and 432 completions in 21 of those 25 games.

points allowed a game over expected

A −1.6 difference in points allowed over expected with Julian Sayin vs without Julian Sayin is about what you’d expect.

A −11.3 difference in points allowed with Julian Sayin vs without Julian Sayin is rare: shuffle which games were with Julian Sayin and it comes up once in 100.

The games

with Julian Sayinwithout Julian Sayin
Ohio State’s games, last 25 games, each marked with Julian Sayin or without Julian Sayin
SideDateGameResultpoints allowedExpected
Jan 1, 2025vsOregon (neutral)W2124.4
Jan 10, 2025vsTexas (neutral)W1422.7
Jan 20, 2025vsNotre Dame (neutral)W2324.2
Aug 30, 2025vsTexasW714.5
Sep 6, 2025vsGrambling StateW0—
Sep 13, 2025vsOhioW94.3
Sep 27, 2025@WashingtonW620.3
Oct 4, 2025vsMinnesotaW36.8
Oct 11, 2025@IllinoisW1616.4
Oct 18, 2025@WisconsinW06.6
Nov 1, 2025vsPenn StateW1415.1
Nov 8, 2025@PurdueW109.1
Nov 15, 2025vsUCLAW106.7
Nov 22, 2025vsRutgersW913.8
Nov 29, 2025@MichiganW917.7
Dec 6, 2025vsIndiana (neutral)L1328.1
Dec 31, 2025vsMiami (FL) (neutral)L2416.1
Sep 5, 2026vsBall StateW313.6
Sep 12, 2026@TexasL2427.0
Sep 19, 2026vsKent StateW36.3
Sep 26, 2026vsIllinoisW1919.2
Oct 3, 2026@IowaW1422.5
Oct 10, 2026vsMarylandW1614.6
Oct 17, 2026@IndianaW1523.8
Oct 31, 2026@USCL3026.0

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every game of its season between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, minus 1.5 in 2024, minus 1.5 in 2025, minus 1.8 in 2026 for the home team (the edge the fit finds once strength is in), nothing at a neutral site.
  • Each expected number is then fit to the season’s games: a game bears out about 75% in 2024, 78% in 2025, 66% in 2026 of the difference the model predicts.
  • The shuffle keeps the season’s shape: the games are cut in two where one date leaves the least variance, each game is read against its stretch, and the sides are shuffled only inside each stretch.
  • Grambling State has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits out the second figure.
  • Who played is read from the schools’ box scores’ participation lists for 21 of these 25 games; in the other 4 a player is counted as in them when the box score has a stat for him.
  • With him means he was the team’s quarterback that game, at least half of its pass attempts; a game he left early or came into late reads as without him.