Stroud left it all on the field; Egbuka has harsh criticism for haters

COVER PHOTO: Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (right) tries to escape Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon's tackle while tight end Joe Royer (left) blocks defensive back Malaki Starks. Picture by Ken Tishenkel/Columbus Wired.

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Sitting down in front of the media after his team’s 42-41 loss, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud was about as visibly upset as the mild-mannered guy has been in his three-year career for the Scarlet and Gray.

“I tried my hardest, I think I left my heart out on that field. And of course, it’s something that is heavy on the heart and it’s going to be tough. But I don’t want to go out there with anybody else. I love my teammates so much and we put everything on the line, I would never want to do it with anybody else,” he said after the game.

The two-year starter and back-to-back Heisman finalist did just about everything in his power to will the No. 4 Buckeyes (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten) to a win over the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (14-0, 9-0 SEC) in the Peach Bowl semifinal on Saturday night.

Not only did he throw for 348 yards on 23-of-34 passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions, but he also led all rushers with a career-high 12 carries. He finished the game second on the team with 34 yards including a 17-yard scramble midway through the fourth quarter on 2nd-and-6 as well as a 27-yard scramble with under a minute to play that put the Buckeyes on Georgia’s 31-yard line and ultimately set them up for the potential game-winning field goal.

Kicker Noah Ruggles missed the 50-yard attempt wide left with three seconds left after knocking down a 48-yarder that gave the Buckeyes a 41-35 lead with 2:43 remaining. It was his first miss of the game and third of the season.

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka came to his quarterback’s defense and clapped back at those who have thrown shade on Stroud since Ohio State’s demoralizing 22-point loss at home to Michigan.

“I think everybody that doesn’t see C.J. as an elite quarterback, for lack of a better term, is an idiot. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever played with, not just in football. He’s a phenomenal leader, I’ve said that many times (but) I feel like, for some reason, people don’t believe me. I just go to him in tough situations because he’s one of the most calm, cool and collected guys I’ve ever been around. So for people to discredit what he’s done here, for people to look at him and say that he hasn’t won really anything at Ohio State, I would say that he is the quarterback but it’s a team sport and there are multiple factors that go into everything. He might surprise some people but he won’t surprise me with what he does in the future.”

Head coach Ryan Day praised Stroud and said Stroud played one of his best games ever on one of the biggest stages even after losing tight end Cade Stover in the first quarter as well as receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. at the end of the third quarter.

“To say that losing Marv didn’t have an impact on the game, it absolutely did. But what this guy (Stroud) did and the way he competed in the second half with all those things coming at him, I just can’t say enough. I’m so proud of the way he played. He wasn’t the only one but he’s sitting right here and he’s the quarterback of this team and just the way that he attacked this game, I couldn’t be any prouder of the way he did that.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also gave Stroud as well as the whole team some props.

“A lot of respect for Ohio State, Coach Day and his program. I saw C.J. Stroud out there, and my heart goes out to those guys because they played well enough to win the game and they got a really good football team.”

Stroud said he and his offensive teammates’ mindset was to go out and “swing” as hard as they could and let everything “hang”.

“I think at the end of the day, we had the mindset of we were going to let everything hang, we were going to go out and fight as hard as we can, we were going to swing as hard as we can and I feel like we did that.”

He said the passing game was very efficient despite taking four sacks for a total of 36 yards lost.

“A couple of those drives where, maybe I missed a read or protection broke down and I got sacked, whatever the case may be. Maybe those were the reasons we lost, no one really knows, so we got to get on the film and see what went on. But I’m proud of my guys … and I can’t say too much (more) about how we fought.”

He said there will probably be some lamenting and second-guessing certain plays but it’s hard having to get on the football field and do what they do.

“It was time and time and time after again, you know, we just kept swinging, kept fighting, kept swinging, kept fighting. I mean, it is what it is. Of course, you’re going to have some regrets on certain plays and wish you did this, wish you did that but at the end of the day, it’s the man in the arena. It’s hard to do what we do, it’s hard. But it’s a blessing at the same time so you got to be joyful in these types of moments.”

Stroud finished the season completing 66 percent of his passes for 3,688 passing yards, 41 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions with 108 rushing yards on 47 carries and no touchdowns.