Ohio State Football: C.J. Stroud can change his legacy

When you play for the Ohio State football program, you are judged on a couple of things. You are judged on how many national championships you contend for, and you are judged on how many times you beat Michigan. Those are the two standards you are judged by.

By those measures, C.J. Stroud is on track to be forgotten. He has never beaten Michigan, not won a Big Ten title, nor has he contended for a national championship. Despite being a two-time Heisman Trophy Finalist, he’s on track to be remembered as a failure.

Stroud has a chance to change that entire narrative. He has a second lease on life now that he is in the College Football Playoff. Despite what he might think, one game does define him. Since he couldn’t win that one game, he has to try to get another shot at beating that team.

In order to get the chance to play TTUN again, he has to take down a really good Georgia squad. But if he is able to beat both Georgia and win a rematch with Michigan in the National Championship Game, he will go down with one of the most unique legacies in Ohio State football history.

Stroud would be revered for all time if he were to do that. Beating Michigan for a national championship? It does not get any better than that. No other quarterback could top that legacy, no matter how long they play for the Buckeyes or what they accomplish.

For how bad it looked just a couple of weeks ago, Stroud can flip that completely with just two more wins. If he has a Rose Bowl-type effort in these last two games, he very well might be etching his name into Ohio State football greatness forever.