PASADENA, Calif. — An Ohio State football season that took multiple unexpected turns culminated in a frenzied, physical Rose Bowl.
The Buckeyes came out flat, suffered frustrating and frightening personnel losses and saw their defense gashed throughout the first half. Then came a second-half rally, a resurgent defensive performance and a last surge of optimism into a potentially transformative offseason.
Fittingly, the final blow came via the reliable leg of Noah Ruggles. His 19-yard field goal lifted the Buckyes to a 48-45 victory over Utah and the program’s ninth Rose Bowl victory.
Smith-Njigba set a plethora of game and season receiving records as he totaled 347 yards and three touchdowns on 15 receptions. Stroud threw for a career-high 573 yards and six touchdowns. With its running game effectively gummed up early — and two star receivers no longer in uniform — OSU turned to what should enter next season as the most dangerous passing tandem in the country.
Stroud’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba with 4:22 to play gave OSU its first lead, 45-38. Utah responded with a six-play, 57-yard touchdown drive of its own. Utah backup quarterback Bryson Barnes — in the game because starter Cam Redding was knocked out early in the fourth quarter — threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid to tie it with 1:57 left.
Utah averaged 8.1 yards per played in the first half and nearly doubled up OSU on time of possession. It controlled the game on the ground, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, and kept finding holes and seams in the defense it could exploit for chunks.
The Buckeyes, though, stiffened after halftime. The Utes averaged only 3.2 yards per carry and totaled only 10 points in the second half. Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg played a big role, recording 11 solos among his 17 tackles.
Ohio State has spent the past five weeks since a 42-27 regular-season ending loss to Michigan. It endured questions about its toughness and doubts about its motivation after settling for a non-playoff bowl assignment.
That toughness question will last until the Buckeyes’ next Big Ten bruiser. But Saturday’s thriller at least provided a boost of confidence into the offseason.
Wild West
Ohio State did not achieve a first down until the final two minutes of the first quarter. Ironically it came when Stroud tucked the ball and scrambled for a first down on third-and-8. That drive ended when he found Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown, cutting the Utah lead to 14-7.
The Buckeyes’ defense had come alive. Soon, the Rose Bowl would go haywire.
Utah responded with a nine-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, capped by Dayton native Tavion Thomas’ 6-yard touchdown run. That was the first of five touchdowns score in a whirlwind 2 minute, 43-second span.
Smith-Njigba scored two of them, on receptions of 52 and 50. Utah’s Britain Covey returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in between. Utes quarterback Cam Rising’s broken-tackle 62-yard run capped the flurry and pushed the Utah lead to 35-21 with 6:24 left in the second quarter.
The explosion nearly continued when Smith-Njigba broke into the open field for another big gain. But Utah cornerback Clark Phillips — a one-time OSU commit who flipped to the Utes on signing day 2019 — came in from behind to knock the ball loose at the 3. Utah recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
Phillips also picked off a Stroud pass in the end zone and made an all-around defensive impact. It maginified the hole he left in this OSU roster with his decommitment.
What it means
Starting about midway through the fourth quarter of the loss at Michigan, the importance of Ohio State’s bowl season revolved around what it meant for the 2022 season. Who would benefit the most from extra practices and game experience? Who would potentially gain confidence from being pushed into a bigger role for the first time.
As such, the true payoff of the last five weeks may not be apparent until the spring, or even next season’s opener against Notre Dame.
Due to attrition and game plan, young players such as Harrison, Julian Fleming, Emeka Egbuka, Kourt Williams II and Cam Martinez all had moments on a big stage Saturday.
What’s next
An offseason of transition.
We know a new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, will soon arrive. Other staff changes will follow.
Additionally, the Buckeyes await the NFL Draft decisions of Zach Harrison, Dawand Jones and perhaps some other contributors. Additional roster decisions could follow after a spring that seems pivotal to developing the defensive performance necessary to push OSU back into the playoffs in 2022.
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