Toledo Quotebook: C.J. Stroud’s Mind “Rivals” Sam Bradford, TC Caffey “Might Mess Around And Make SportsCenter” And Cade Stover’s Work is “Starting to Pay Off”

Well that was an ass-kicking.

Ohio State pulled no punches during a brutal beatdown of its in-state opponent Saturday, racking up its second-most yards of total offense in program history (763) as the Buckeyes poured in 77 points on the Toledo defense.

C.J. Stroud put up Heisman-like numbers at quarterback, throwing as many touchdowns (five) as he had incompletions to finish the game with 357 yards on 22-for-27 passing. Stroud’s performance was so good that Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson compared him to a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback he coached back at Oklahoma in the aughts.

“Sam Bradford was the first guy I thought had the quickest mind, and I would say C.J.'s rivals his. And not only the ability to have a quick mind, but the ability to see and process,” Wilson said. “Because what is your vision? What do you see? I think he sees things very, very clearly. You know, I think the way he works with Coach Day and Coach Dennis, he's very much in sync with what Coach Day wants him to do, where his eyes need to be and what his looks are and what his check downs are.

“He's very, very talented, he's very, very brilliant and I think he sees the game for a young kid as well as I've ever seen a quarterback.”

Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming returned from injury, allowing the country to see the full strength of the Buckeye receiving corps for the first time all year. Four different Ohio State wideouts caught touchdowns on the night (Marvin Harrison Jr., Fleming, Emeka Egbuka and Jayden Ballard) and three hauled in at least 100 receiving yards (Harrison, Egbuka and Ballard).

“Great for the room. You know, you can see now the depth that we have and when you're playing a full game, we're gonna need all those guys,” Ryan Day said. “We just are. We knew we'd need all these guys, we didn't know that we'd need all of them in the first game against Notre Dame like we did, (Xavier Johnson) catches the big touchdown pass. But we're gonna need all these guys throughout the year.”

But the Buckeye offense also received major contributions from several unexpected sources, including fourth-year tight end Cade Stover, who had a career-high 83 yards on three receptions. Stroud was upset he missed a wide-open Stover in the end zone for what would have been his first career touchdown, but raved about the performance of the Buckeye captain nonetheless.

“Phenomenal game, blocked his tail off and also ran great routes, great body language. And it's just a sign for him to kind of see his work pay off,” Stroud said. “He's probably the person I look up to on the team, honestly. He always puts confidence in me just his knack just to win and want to just dominate people and I definitely appreciate Cade. He's a great leader, great man of God. And then of course he works on a farm, which you can see in his work ethic. And it's starting to pay off for him, so I'm super excited for him. I definitely think it will continue to be great.”

In the run game, Ohio State tight end/fullback Mitch Rossi punched in a touchdown on the ground in another moment that likely surprised many spectators. Day said it only made sense to hand the ball to a fullback out of an I-formation given the history at Ohio Stadium.

“We thought with the 100th year anniversary of the Horseshoe it would be good to line up in the I, hand the ball to the fullback for a touchdown. So we wanted to get that done this year,” Day said. “No but Mitch, Mitch is a weapon for us. We're trying to build those packages.”

Wilson said Rossi may even have a future in the NFL, if he can find his niche with the right team.

“It was nice to get Mitch a touch and get in the end zone. … Two years ago I even told him, I go, 'I think you're an NFL fullback. I don't know if you think that, but I think that.' There's not a lot of guys that do that, and the NFL still plays with that position quite a bit,” Wilson said. “He kind of came on and as he came on a couple of years ago and had a couple of plays in a couple of our games that got a little bit out of hand, the special teams role took off. And I'm glad he came back for this extra year. If he stays healthy, maybe he gets an opportunity, maybe not. I think it's beauty in the eye of the beholder.

“But again, he and Cade give us maturity, give us toughness. They don't give us a lot of flash, they give us great play. And I sit in that room every day with two men I have a lot of respect for. They're special players.”

TreVeyon Henderson left the game with an injury after the first drive, but a couple of freshman running backs stepped up late to make sure the production on the ground never waned through four quarters for the Buckeye offense. Dallan Hayden finished with 117 yards and his first career touchdown on 17 carries, and walk-on TC Caffey – who just saw his black stripe removed a couple days ago – added 57 yards and a score in his own right.

“Well, (Hayden)’s practiced well, he's taking care of the football. So is TC, quite honestly. Both those guys have done a nice job in practice,” Day said. “But the number one thing for those guys, they have to take care of the football. … They've done that. Now they can let their natural ability take over, and I thought Dallan ran hard. He's done that in practice. So to see him for the first time out play like this, you can see his quickness in the hole, he's got good vision, he's got power and he's got a chance to be really good back.”

As thrilled as Hayden was for his own big night, the first-year ballcarrier may have been just as happy for Caffey, who he said deserves a spot on ESPN for his highlight-reel 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.