Ohio State Offense Provides Glimpse of the Future in Rose Bowl Win

Buckeyes show off young offensive talents in 48-45 win over Utah

Author:
Spencer German
Jan 2, 2022 12:01 AM EST

There's a reason Keith Jackson so eloquently called Rose Bowl "the granddaddy of them all," so many decades ago.

Something about this game and it's movie-like setting brings out the best and the brightest. And after a week dominated mostly by talk of those Buckeyes who chose to opt-out and prepare for careers in the NFL it was the young Buckeyes stepping up to fill their shoes who flipped the narrative toward the future.

The Buckeyes offense barely missed a beat without the likes of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson – two of a handful of Rose Bowl opt-outs for OSU – as C.J. Stroud turned to lesser mentioned weapons to rack up a Buckeye-record 573 passing yards and bury Utah 48-45. There was sophomore Julian Fleming (five catches for 35 yards) as well as the dynamic due of true freshmen Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., who combined for nine receptions and 117 yards.

And then there was Stroud's favorite target this season in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who hauled in a team-high 15 receptions for nearly 350 yards and three TDs.

"He played one of the best games probably in the history of the Rose Bowl," head coach Ryan Day said of Smith-Njigba postgame, and he's right, as his 347 receiving yards were the most in Rose Bowl history. The performance also helped Smith-Njigba put the finishing touches on the greatest receiving season in Ohio State history leapfrogging David Boston with 87 catches and 1,444 yards.

"C.J. and [Smith-Njigba] just have a great connection," Day said of the duo. "They have a great feel and I think there's a lot of trust there that's been built over the year."

"I just trust the process," Smith-Njigba humbly said of taking on a bigger role with the absence of Olave and Wilson. "I trust that the coaches are going to put me in the right opportunity. That C.J. is going to put me in the right opportunity. Just taking advantage of every opportunity that I get."

There are plenty more opportunities to come for the Rockwall, Texas native, who stands to be Stroud's No. 1 receiver again next season. But talents like Harrison Jr., Egbuka and Fleming are now on their way to being household names themselves, and remarkably, already seem to have developed some chemistry of their own with Stroud.

"[Harrison Jr. and I] built that connection all the way back when we came in as freshman together and on scout team last year," Stroud explained after linking up with Harrison Jr. for three touchdown passes. "It didn't surprise me when I heard the numbers, because he does this all the time ... he showed glimpses but he's got way more in his bag."

That's a scary thought for any of the Buckeyes 2022 opponents. Even more alarming is that Harrison Jr. isn't the only player with more up his sleeve. Fleming had to exit with a shoulder injury and showed just a flash in the pan of what he can do. Egbuka had an incredible catch early in the game, while racking up 163 return yards and will certainly have a bigger role next season. And while Treveyon Henderson finished this game as a footnote with 83 rushing yards and a handful of receptions, he's a Heisman candidate in his own right.

"I'm just blessed to be around guys like this," Stroud said. "Our O-line played their butts off, our running backs ran the ball well, tight ends played very well and then the young guys like Marvin and Julian played well. When you put all those things together I feel like we just keep going."

In many ways the Rose Bowl win over Utah is an appetizer to hold Ohio State fans over until August. Just a glimpse of how much more explosive – if you can believe that – the Buckeyes offense could be in 2022. And when the main course comes this fall, with a full year of games under his belt and another offseason of chemistry built up with his Navy fleet of weapons, Stroud and company will be right back in the National Championship conversation.

"When my guys are rolling I think we're pretty much unstoppable, the Buckeyes signal-caller said. "But we gotta go out there and prove that."

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