Ohio state quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for a school-record 573 yards and a record-tying six touchdowns within the Buckeyes' 48-45 win over Utah within the Rose Bowl.
USA TODAY Sports activities
PASADENA, Calif. — C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba placed on a passing efficiency that obliterated a large number of data throughout one of many largest offensive days in Ohio State’s storied historical past.
The Buckeyes nonetheless barely did sufficient to carry off resilient Utah and its backup quarterback in a single spectacular Rose Bowl.
Stroud capped his record-setting offensive day by main a 56-yard drive ending in Noah Ruggles’ 19-yard area purpose with 9 seconds to play, and No. 7 Ohio State beat No. 10 Utah 48-45 on Saturday night time within the wild 108th version of the Rose Bowl.
Stroud handed for a school-record 573 yards and a record-tying six touchdowns for the Buckeyes (11-2), who received the Granddaddy of Them All for the second time in 4 years whereas toppling one long-standing offensive report after one other. Stroud’s yards passing and touchdowns each are Rose Bowl data, and he completed 3 yards shy of the report for yards passing in any bowl recreation.
“It’s emotional for me,” mentioned Stroud, from close by Rancho Cucamonga. “It’s like I’m dreaming proper now. I used to be in a position to come house and win the Rose Bowl like this. … That is the Rose Bowl, man. That is the place the legendary video games are being performed.”
Ohio State created a couple of extra legends on this journey.
Smith-Njigba set the report for any FBS bowl recreation with 347 yards receiving whereas catching a school-record 15 passes and scoring three touchdowns. Marvin Harrison Jr. additionally caught three TD passes for the Buckeyes, who set a Rose Bowl and college bowl report with 683 whole yards.
But the Buckeyes had been those taking part in from behind for almost the entire first three-plus quarters in Arroyo Seco till they summoned the desire for 3 fourth-quarter scoring drives.
“Our workforce is constructed on combating,” Smith-Njigba mentioned. “It doesn’t matter if we’re up, down. We had been down the primary half, however we simply needed to keep degree headed and hold combating.”
Ohio State needed to rally from 10 factors down late within the third quarter to get previous the Pac-12 champion Utes (10-4), who acquired off to an electrifying 35-point first half of their first college’s first journey to the Rose Bowl. They even stayed aggressive after star quarterback Cameron Rising went down with an damage whereas getting sacked with 9:56 to play.
The Utes needed to flip to backup Bryson Barnes, who grew up on a pig farm in central Utah and had by no means thrown a collegiate go. He he led them on a tying drive, capped by a 15-yard TD go to Dalton Kincaid with 1:54 left.
Stroud coolly drove the Buckeyes again downfield within the waning seconds, and Ruggles hit his simple area purpose. Ohio State kicked off to Britain Covey, who already had a 97-yard kickoff return for a landing earlier, however the Buckeyes smothered his cutback as time ran out.
“All we would have liked was 30 extra seconds, if that,” Barnes mentioned. “Get down the sector, tie it and head to OT. However we didn’t get sufficient time. … Plenty of dudes are unhappy, however there’s not quite a bit to hold our heads on. We’ve been by way of the bottom of lows and highest of highs, however we made Utah soccer historical past as we speak.”
In entrance of a raucous crowd dominated by Utah followers within the venerable stadium that opened in October 1922, the faculties matched the 2012 Oregon-Wisconsin matchup for the highest-scoring first half in Rose Bowl historical past, combining for 42 factors and 443 yards within the second quarter alone.
Ohio State trailed 38-31 getting into the fourth quarter regardless of the pyrotechnics of its passing recreation, however the Buckeyes instantly stopped Utah on downs on the Ohio State 31, and tied it on Harrison’s 5-yard TD catch with 10:12 left. After Rising’s damage, Smith-Njigba made a 30-yard, over-the-shoulder catch for his third landing with 4:22 to play.
“To return out within the second half and play the way in which we did says quite a bit about this workforce,” mentioned Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who earned his second bowl victory. “We had been short-handed, and for us to reply the way in which we did at halftime says quite a bit concerning the character of this workforce.”
Rising handed for 214 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards and a rating whereas main the Utes to a 35-21 halftime lead, however he left the sport with an obvious head damage. Utah performed with out three of its high 4 cornerbacks, even forcing operating again Micah Bernard to play defensive again for the primary time since highschool.
“In some unspecified time in the future, we have now to play protection,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham mentioned. “We didn’t play very effectively all night time lengthy on protection. It wasn’t our typical. Unsure we’d be capable to get a cease.”
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