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Ohio State Football: Buckeyes win a Rose Bowl for the ages

By Ryan Stano

Sat., Jan. 1, 2022; Pasadena, California, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) loses the ball under pressure from Utah Utes cornerback Clark Phillips III (8) during the second quarter of the 108th Rose Bowl Game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes at the Rose Bowl. The Utes recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.Rose Bowl Game Ohio State Buckeyes Against Utah Utes
Sat., Jan. 1, 2022; Pasadena, California, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) loses the ball under pressure from Utah Utes cornerback Clark Phillips III (8) during the second quarter of the 108th Rose Bowl Game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Utah Utes at the Rose Bowl. The Utes recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.Rose Bowl Game Ohio State Buckeyes Against Utah Utes /
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The Ohio State football team played in one of the best bowl games I’ve ever witnessed. It didn’t look good for them early either, because they were down 14-0 early after the defense couldn’t stop anything. In fact, the Buckeyes allowed 35 first-half points.

It didn’t end up mattering. the defense made adjustments in the second half to only allow 10 second-half points. They made some plays late when they needed to have some stops. All of that being said, the story of this game was Jaxon Smith-Njigba and C.J. Stroud.

Smith-Njigba set an FBS bowl game record with 15 catches for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was absolutely amazing all game long. He was simply uncoverable and made the Ohio State offense dynamic. Stroud did a phenomenal job giving him the ball as well.

Stroud threw for a Rose Bowl record 573 yards on 37/46 passing. He had 6 touchdowns in this game too, none of them better than his final touchdown pass to JSN. Stroud showed that he is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and he’s coming back next year.

This offensive performance was amazing to see after how poorly the defense played for most of this game. This gives the Buckeyes a lot of momentum for the 2022 season. With a new defensive coordinator coming in tomorrow, hopefully some of those issues get fixed.

Winning a game 48-45 like they did gives Buckeye fans some hope that this team has the mental fortitude it needs for a run in 2022. A lot of these guys come back next season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They showed perseverance at an extremely high level.

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This will probably go down as one of the best bowl games this season, and it’s certainly one that Ohio State football fans will never forget either.

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