Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is raking in the accolades.
Since the regular season concluded, Stroud was named a Heisman Trophy finalist for a second-straight season, placing third, and also won the Big Ten's Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year, after capturing both a season ago.
He's been named to a slew of All-American teams as a second-team quarterback.
But when many Ohio State fans think about things coming in twos for Stroud, it's the back-to-back losses the Buckeyes suffered against Michigan that stick out the most.
It would be unfair to pin either the 2021 or 2022 losses solely on Stroud - he averaged 371 yards passing on a 67% completion rate with four touchdowns and two picks against the Wolverines - but even he acknowledged after last month's loss he could've done more to potentially push Ohio State to the winner's circle.
And within Buckeye Nation, how you fare against Michigan trumps everything else in your bank of accomplishments, short of leading the team to a national title.
Usually, a loss to Michigan would mean there would be no shot at a national championship but this season Stroud has the unique chance to not only overcome the stain on his legacy with those two defeats at the hands of the Wolverines, he could actually even have another shot at Jim Harbaugh's program. Of course for that to happen, both the Buckeyes and Michigan would need to win their College Football Playoff semifinal matchups on New Year's Eve.
For Stroud and the Buckeyes, that requires pulling off a pretty legit upset over the defending champs in No. 1 seed Georgia.
Speaking of the Bulldogs, they boast the nation's 51st-ranked passing defense giving up 215 yards per contest. That said, Georgia sits a more-respectable No. 13 in yards allowed per passing attempt with a mark of 6.2.
What does that mean for Ohio State? We'll have to find out on December 31 but we can at least take a look at how Stroud has fared this season against top-50 pass defenses.
| OPPONENT | OPP PASS YPG ALLOWED | NATL RANK | OPP YPA ALLOWED | NATL RANK | STROUD COMP/ATT | STROUD PASS YDS | STROUD COMP% | STROUD TD/INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MICHIGAN | 192 | 22 | 5.8 | 5 | 31/48 | 349 | 64.6 | 2/2 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 183 | 12 | 7.1 | 63 | 10/26 | 76 | 38.5 | 0/0 |
| PENN STATE | 213 | 49 | 5.9 | 6 | 26/33 | 354 | 78.8 | 1/0 |
| IOWA | 174 | 9 | 5.5 | 2 | 20/30 | 286 | 66.7 | 4/1 |
| RUTGERS | 207 | 36 | 6.5 | 29 | 13/22 | 154 | 59.1 | 2/1 |
| WISCONSIN | 202 | 29 | 7.0 | 55 | 17/27 | 281 | 63.0 | 5/1 |
| TOLEDO | 186 | 15 | 5.9 | 6 | 22/27 | 367 | 81.5 | 5/0 |
| NOTRE DAME | 189 | 20 | 6.6 | 35 | 24/34 | 223 | 70.6 | 2/0 |
Stroud completed 66% of his passes for an average of 261.3 yards per game with 21 touchdowns against five interceptions in eight matchups against top-50 pass defenses this season.
Those eight defenses combined allowed an average of 177 passing yards per contest. Stroud threw for 349+ yards in three of those eight games and one, the gusty afternoon in Evanston, is a bit of a throwaway considering Joe Burrow would've struggled in those conditions. And while the five interceptions stick out a bit, the two against Michigan were tipped.
That said, Stroud's decision-making and ball placement weren't as strong this season and to the frustration of many fans, his lack of desire to run, and his head coach's lack of desire to ask him to run, contributed to some of the offense's sluggishness particularly down the stretch.
So now Ohio State heads into its CFP matchup with Georgia having backed into the field following a disappointing performance against Michigan along with general offensive fits and starts over the second half of the regular season.
But hey, in every media session since, Day has gone out of his way to tout a renewed attitude bent on playing with aggression, fast and loose and without fear of failure.
Ohio State's offense should also benefit greatly from what will be a 35-day layoff, giving guys like tailbacks TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, and right guard Matt Jones time to get healthy, or at least be healthier.
Still, the success of Ohio State's offense still comes back to Stroud first and foremost, along with whether or Day truly does deploy a more aggressive approach that effectively features its best weapons and looks down the field more than laterally.
One such aggressive approach from Day would be to challenge the Bulldogs if they give zero respect to Stroud as a runner, both on designed read option plays and on pass plays when coverage is tight. Stroud could've taken off for positive yards at least half a dozen times against Michigan but instead sat in the pocket with all day to throw to no avail.
Day could also do Stroud some favors by scheming up additional ways to get Marvin Harrison Jr. open to catch the football. Harrison averaged 5.8 receptions for 79.9 yards with five touchdowns against the eight top-50 pass defenses Ohio State faced this season. He went for over 100 yards in three of the eight contests (Michigan 120, Penn State 185, Toledo 102). Harrison ate in the four games against pass defenses outside the top-50, averaging 6.5 catches for 129.5 yards with seven touchdowns.
Oddmakers aren't expecting Day, Stroud and the rest of Ohio State's offense to put it all together to ring in the new year but that's why they play the games.
If Stroud can orchestrate a more-aggressive game plan at an elite level, the Buckeyes could absolutely advance to the national title game and if it's Michigan they meet, Stroud and company will have one last chance to add a ring to their legacies.
