Greatest “Granddaddy of Them All” ever?
Cover photo: OSU wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba stiff arms Utah defensive back Micah Bernard on the way to a 50-yard TD catch early in the second quarter. It was his first of three in the game. Photo by John McCoy/Associated Press.
Wow, just WOW.
It’s probably safe to say that not only Buckeye Nation but the entire nation witnessed the greatest Rose Bowl ever played in the 108-year history of the game on Jan. 1, 2022.
When the dust settled and the air cleared after the chaos that ensued in Pasadena on Saturday night, sixth-ranked Ohio State overcame a 14-point first half deficit to best 11th-rated Utah, 48-45.
After all was said and done, OSU rolled up a Rose Bowl team record 683 offensive yards as redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba went berserk, hooking up all night long on the way to setting a variety of school, Rose Bowl and FBS bowl game records. In total, the pair as well as true freshman receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. either tied or eclipsed seven different Rose Bowl records.
The two teams also tied the most combined points scored in one half of a Rose Bowl (56) which included a 35-point flurry between them in less than three minutes midway through the second quarter. Utah outscored Ohio State 21-14 in that time span and took a 35-21 lead into halftime. The 56-point record was previously set by Oregon and Wisconsin in the first half of their 2012 game.
Stroud completed 37-of-46 passes (80 percent) for a new Rose Bowl and OSU single-game record 573 yards, while throwing six touchdowns and one interception. The six TDs ties him with former OSU QB Dwayne Haskins’ six tosses in the 2018 Michigan game. Stroud also ran one time for 10 yards, finishing the game with 583 total yards, which is also a new Rose Bowl record. See more records below.
Stroud said his connection with Smith-Njigba has been developing since the day they both stepped foot on campus nearly two years ago.
“We came in as freshmen together, came in early, and we were throwing at the Woody (Hayes Athletic Center) like, our first day. And then scout team last year is when we really built it. And this doesn’t surprise me at all. When I heard the numbers, I didn’t even really notice because he does this all the time,” said Stroud during the official postgame press conference.
As for JSN, the sophomore went ballistic with 15 catches on 16 targets for 347 yards and three touchdowns. The only targeted pass he didn’t catch was the first pass thrown from Stroud on the third play of the game but was broken up by Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III.
The 15 catches tied the single-game team record he set earlier this season in the Nebraska game which broke receiver David Boston’s record of 14 against Penn State in 1997. He also had 240 receiving yards in that same Nebraska game which was 14 yards shy of breaking receiver Terry Glenn’s record 253 that was achieved against Pitt in 1995.
Now, the OSU single-game receiving yards record is his by a landslide, making him the only receiver in school history with a game of over 300 yards.
It also put him in two other categories all to himself. He’s not only the Rose Bowl’s receiving yards record-holder, shattering Keyshawn Johnson’s 212 set against Northwestern in 1996, but he reeled in more yards than any receiver ever in an FBS bowl game. Hawaii receiver Jason Rivers previously had the record with 308 which came against Arizona State in the 2006 Hawaii Bowl.
Smith-Njigba remained humble when asked about his record-setting performance.
“It’s just a blessing, I gotta give all thanks to God, without Him, nothing’s possible. Gotta give thanks to coach (Day) and C.J., of course, for giving me the opportunities and, you know, the O-line. It’s not just me, I couldn’t have done it without them. I just try to take in every moment, every time the ball is in the air, and I feel like I did that today.”
Stroud said the most important thing to him was sending out the seniors the “right way” and getting the monkey off their back after the loss at Michigan. Then he threw a little shade towards those who didn’t participate.
“What motivated us wasn’t just this game but the previous game. So I know that was my motivation just getting that bad taste out of our team’s mouth (and) end the season our way and sending the seniors out the right way. That was probably the most important thing to me. And then, on top of that, this is the Rose Bowl, man, you know what I’m saying? This is where legendary games are being played. So if you’re not motivated to play it, I question your love of the game, you know what I mean?”
Although some were viewing the Rose Bowl as a consolation prize, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day knew better than that and let his guys know beforehand exactly what it was going to mean for them to have the opportunity to play in it.
“I said, somewhere in about 15 to 20 years, you’re going to be somewhere and the Rose Bowl is going to come on on New Year’s and you’re going to be sitting there with somebody you love or your son or somebody, and say, ‘I played in the Rose Bowl.’ And the first thing they’re going to ask you is, ‘did you win?’ And now these guys are going to be able to tell an unbelievable story they played in this game and they won in a big way,” he said according to video posted by Eleven Warriors.
The Buckeyes had four AP second-team All-Americans opt out. Utah had nobody voluntarily sit. OSU's four opt outs were receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere and defensive lineman Haskell Garrett.
The Utes (10-4, 8-1 Pac-12) came in as their conference champion and were appearing in their first Rose Bowl while the Buckeyes (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten) came in as the B1G’s second-best team and were representing the conference because Michigan won the conference title and appeared in the college football playoff, thus making OSU the default representative. It was the Scarlet and Gray’s 16th appearance and the victory game them their ninth Rose Bowl win, which is now the most of any Big Ten team. The previous record was held by both the Buckeyes and Wolverines with eight. OSU is now 9-7 all-time in the game. Michigan is 8-12.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said in his postgame presser that his guys played a great game and had nothing to be ashamed of.
“(I’m) proud of our guys, they got absolutely nothing to hang their head about. They fought the entire 60 minutes, came up short but still made Utah football history this year (as) Pac-12 champions, which had never been done in our program. And I told them that exact same thing in the locker room. It’s been a terrific season (and) yeah, we’re all disappointed that we didn’t win the game … but that’s how life goes. And so … give all the credit to Ohio State. They’re very talented and we just didn’t have enough in the tank tonight to get the job done.”
The Utes came out on fire to start the game, piling up 453 total yards on the way to five first half touchdowns. However, the Buckeyes’ defense came out in the second half and put down the clamps, allowing Utah only 139 offensive yards and 10 points. Ohio State's offense was able to score three more second half touchdowns and kicker Noah Ruggles knocked down both of his field goal attempts. His second successful try was a 19-yarder with 12 seconds left to secure the victory.
“Our guys at halftime said, ‘enough’ and they were going to impose their will in the second half,” Day said of the defense, according to the Eleven Warriors video. “They started playing fast and violent and that’s what we have to do moving forward if want to be where we need to be and they did that in the second half.”
Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg led the Scarlet and Gray with 17 total tackles including nine in the second half and a five-yard tackle for-loss.
The Utes scored their only second half TD with 1:54 remaining in the game when backup QB Bryson Barnes was called into action after starter Cameron Rising was literally knocked out earlier in the quarter. The walk-on freshman had never thrown a collegiate pass but completed a 15-yard scoring toss to tight end Dalton Kincaid in the back of the end zone to tie it at 45.
The Buckeyes then began their game-winning drive at their own 42 with 1:47 to go after freshman receiver Emeka Egbuka fielded the kickoff at the 9 and returned it 33 yards. From there, Stroud led the Buckeyes down the field on a blended seven-play, 56-yard drive, completing all three of his passes for 29 yards. Freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson carried it three times for 27 yards to put OSU at the Utah 2 and set up Ruggles for the game-winning kick.
Harrison, Jr. finished the game with six catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns, which ties him with Smith-Njigba and two others for the Rose Bowl TD receiving record.
Henderson led the team with 17 carries for 83 yards.
Receiver Britain Covey led all Utes in all-purpose yards and scores with 252 and two touchdowns which included a 97-yard kickoff return to the house midway through the second quarter. He had 208 return yards for the game. He also chipped in three catches for 34 yards - including the first TD scored in the game - a 19-yarder with 11 minutes left in the first quarter, and ran twice for 10 yards.
Rising led the Utes through the air on 17-of-22 passing for 212 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also led all rushers with 92 yards on 11 carries including a 62-yard score on fourth-and-1 midway through the second quarter.
Fellow running back and Dayton, Ohio native Tavion Thomas had 67 yards on 18 rushes and one touchdown.
Tight end Brant Kuithe led Utah with six receptions for 77 yards. Kincaid finished with three catches for 45 yards and the score.
Individual single-game records set
583 total yards. Stroud not only now owns the overall Rose Bowl record with this stat but owns the team’s single-game record, which was previously set by Haskins (506) in the 2018 Big Ten championship game against Northwestern. It’s now second all-time in FBS bowl history to former BYU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer’s 594 against Penn State in the 1989 Holiday Bowl.
573 passing yards. Stroud broke Haskins’ single-game school record of 499, which was also set in the ’18 B1G championship game. It’s also a new Rose Bowl record and was four yards shy of breaking both Detmer and former Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich’s 576, who are tied with the FBS bowl record in the ’89 Holiday Bowl and 2001 GMAC Bowl, respectively.
Six TD passes. Not only does this tie Stroud with Haskins, it’s now an overall Rose Bowl record and doubles the team’s own Rose Bowl record (3) which set by Haskins against Washington in 2019.
237 second quarter passing yards. After completing 10-of-12 passes in the second 15-minute set, which included his first three complete for touchdowns, this single quarter stat ties Stroud for third in FBS bowl history. Former LSU (and OSU) QB Joe Burrow and former Houston QB Greg Ward, Jr. both had the same amount. Burrow's came in the second quarter of the Tigers’ 2019 Peach Bowl semifinal against Oklahoma and Ward tossed his in the fourth quarter against Pitt in the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl. First place is former Central Michigan QB Cooper Rush’s fourth quarter 255 against Western Kentucky in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl and second is former Colorado State QB Nick Stevens, who threw 250 in the fourth quarter of the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Idaho.
37 completions and 46 attempts. Stroud’s 46 attempts tie an OSU bowl record and the 37 completions are a new bowl mark, both of which were set by former QB Justin Fields against Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl college football playoff semifinal when he completed 30-of-46.
347 receiving yards. As stated earlier, this stat now gives Smith-Njigba OSU’s single-game record as well as a Rose Bowl and FBS bowl record.
15 receptions. Smith-Njigba not only tied his own mark, but set a new Rose Bowl record and broke an OSU bowl record, both of which were held by Boston and former receiver Parris Campbell’s record of 11, set against Texas A&M in the 1999 Sugar Bowl and 2019 Rose Bowl, respectively.
Individual season records set
95 catches, 1,606 receiving yards and 7.3 receptions per game. Smith-Njigba now owns all three of these single-season receptions records. The first was accomplished by Campbell (90) in 2018 and the 7.3 snags per contest just barely beats both Olave and Boston’s 7.1 catch per game mark that was etched by Boston in ’98 and tied by Olave last season. JSN also broke another one of Boston’s records with the season receiving yards total previously set in 1998 with 1,435.
Along with the 10 catches for 49 yards he had last season, Smith-Njigba is already ranked 21st at OSU with 105 career catches. That’s ahead of such names like Jeff Graham (99), Bobby Olive (91) and current wide receivers coach Brian Hartline (90).
His 1,655 career yards already rank him 20th all-time, which is now better than Hartline (1,429), Olive (1,419), tight end John Frank (1,481) and current NFL star Michael Thomas (1,602). He needs 23 more next year to pass Glenn for 19th.
317 completions, 441 attempts, 4,435 yards and 44 TDs. None of these are single-season passing records for Stroud. However, they all rank second-best behind Haskins in a one-year performance, who set the school records for each by completing 373 passes (also a B1G record) out of 533 attempts for a total of 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns.