Exquisite Efforts: Perfect Single-Game Offensive Performances Turned In By Ohio State Football Players

By Chris Lauderback on July 2, 2023 at 10:10 am
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
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New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German achieved baseball immortality last week by tossing just the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. 

An extraordinarily rare feat, it was even more incomprehensible as German was coming off back-to-back starts in which he allowed a combined 15 earned runs and 15 hits over 5.1 innings. 

While the concept of a perfect game is typically reserved for baseball, German's feat got me thinking about not just great offensive performances in Ohio State football history, but which of those truly transcended 'great' and could be argued as 'perfect' without any major pushback from fans. 

In baseball, the perfect game is well-defined - there can be no argument. It's 27 up, 27 down. No baserunners allowed for any reason. Perfection. 

In football, the benchmark for offensive perfection is less clear but I'll take a stab at it anyway. Note that I'll only include games I saw with my own two eyes. 

JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA: 15 RECEPTIONS FOR 347 YARDS AND THREE TOUCHDOWNS VS. UTAH

So yeah, not sure too many folks will argue against calling Smith-Njigba's 2021 Rose Bowl a perfect game. 

JSN's 347 receiving yards bettered Terry Glenn's school-record by 94 yards and served as the most in any bowl game in FBS history. 

His 15 receptions were also good for a school-record and six of those went for at least 30 yards. And as you can see in the highlight clip, a handful featured high degree of difficulty and elite yards after catch. 

Ohio State of course needed every one of those receptions, yards and touchdowns in a 48-45 win.

I suppose you could argue his game wasn't perfect due to fumble at the end of a 49-yard catch and run in the second quarter but considering he also had touchdown catches of 50 and 52 yards in that same quarter, I'm giving him a pass. 

TREY SERMON: 29 CARRIES FOR 331 YARDS AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS VS. NORTHWESTERN

It's a little harder to pinpoint the most perfect performance by a running back in school history. That said, I'll go with two but the first one is Sermon carrying Ohio State to a Big Ten title game win over Northwestern in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. 

With Ohio State already without Chris Olave who didn't make the trip, Master Teague getting hurt in the first quarter and Justin Fields suffering a sprained thumb in the second half that severely limited his impact, the Buckeyes needed Sermon to step up in a big way. 

After carrying the ball 55 times for 344 yards and one touchdown across Ohio State's first five games of the 2020 slate, Sermon went wild against Northwestern with 29 attempts for 331 yards as the Buckeyes overcame a 10-6 halftime deficit to record a 22-10 victory. 

Sermon's second half was simply sensational as he recorded 271 yards on 22 carries (12.3 ypc) with two huge touchdowns. 

Averaging 11.4 yards per carry on the day, Sermon had four attempts of at least 20 yards, nine of at least 10 yards and just two negative yardage carries (-3 yards total) against a Northwestern defense allowing 3.8 yards per carry before Trey got loose.  

The win gave Ohio State a B1G record fourth-consecutive outright league title. 

EZEKIEL ELLIOTT: 20 CARRIES FOR 230 YARDS AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS VS. ALABAMA

Elliott did lose a fumble in this contest which Alabama converted into seven points two plays later and he was also flagged for a false start but considering the opponent, the stakes, and the fact Ohio State was down to its third-string quarterback, it's hard not to put Zeke's effort in the perfect game conversation. It's an honorable mention if nothing else. 

Elliott's 230 rushing yards set a Sugar Bowl record against a Crimson Tide defense, ranked No. 2 in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 88.7 yards on the ground entering the contest. His 11.5 yards per carry staggered Nick Saban's squad as Zeke became the first player to rush for at least 100 yards against Alabama that season. He also added a 13-yard reception. 

Oh and his 54-yard burst and later his legendary 85-yard spurt to paydirt served as the two longest carries against the Crimson Tide all season. 

The 54-yarder set up a field goal on Ohio State's first possession and of course the 85-yarder through the heart of south clinched a 42-35 win, paving the way for the Buckeyes to defeat Oregon to claim a national title. 

Only one of Elliott's 20 carries went for negative yardage (-1) and he was balanced with 117 rushing yards in the first half and 113 in the second. 

As I type this one I'm thinking it wasn't exactly a perfect performance but the timing sure as hell was. 

C.J. STROUD: 37-OF-46 PASSING FOR 573 YARDS AND SIX TOUCHDOWNS VS. UTAH 

If a quarterback can be considered perfect despite throwing one interception then C.J. Stroud's stunning performance against Utah in the Rose Bowl deserves to be in the mix. 

With Ohio State's defense doing nothing of value, it was up to Stroud to take over the game, and do it without Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson at his disposal. No problem. 

The gunslinger from nearby Rancho Cucamonga completed 80.4% of his passes for an OSU single-game record 573 yards and a Rose Bowl record six touchdown passes in a come-from-behind victory. 

His yardage bested Dwayne Haskins' previous school record by 74 and after that lone interception, he led the Buckeyes on five-straight scoring drives to complete the comeback. 

Some of the prettiest throws of his career came in this contest and two examples of his clutch came as he went 2-for-2 on fourth down with a 25-yard touchdown toss to Marvin Harrison Jr. and a 9-yard completion on 4th-and-4, setting up a 30-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba one play later giving OSU a 45-38 lead with 4:22 left in regulation. 

It was simply a performance for the ages. 

C.J. STROUD: 23-OF-34 FOR 348 YARDS AND FOUR TOUCHDOWNS, 34 RUSHING YARDS VS. GEORGIA

While Stroud's Utah performance was mind-blowing for its pinpoint accuracy and gaudy numbers while playing short-handed, his 348 passing yards and four touchdowns along with some clutch runs against Georgia has to make the list of potentially-perfect games even in defeat.

Sacks cost Stroud 36 yards on the ground but in the second half alone, he ran it seven times either by design or necessity for 71 yards. 

Facing Georgia's elite defense, Stroud's 382 total yards accounted for 82% of offense's total output and four of the team's five touchdowns came via his right arm. 

A handful of Stroud's throws, including 31-yard and 16-yard touchdown connections with Harrison Jr. showed his ability to buy time with his feet, keep his eyes downfield and deliver perfect strikes. 

Again, OSU didn't win so maybe that disqualifies this one right from the jump but it was probably Stroud's best game as a Buckeye. 

JUSTIN FIELDS: 22-OF-28 FOR 385 YARDS AND SIX TOUCHDOWNS, 42 RUSHING YARDS VS. CLEMSON

After dropping a heartbreaker to Clemson the previous season - a  CFP semifinal loss defined by a bad call and a broken route - Fields was ready for some revenge in a 2020 playoff rematch. 

And wow did Fields achieve his goal as he torched the Tigers for 348 yards passing including a Sugar Bowl record six touchdown throws while running for another 42 yards in Ohio State's 49-28 spanking of Clemson. All this after head coach Dabo Swinney ranked the Buckeyes No. 11 in his Coaches Poll ballot. Fields did throw a lone interception but I think all Buckeye fans are cool with that. 

Fields hit on 11 of his first 12 passes for 163 yards and two scores before Clemson's James Skalski buried his helmet in Fields' back, earning a disqualification, while sending Fields to the medical tent in significant pain. 

Fields missed just one play before returning to roll right and hit Olave for a 9-yard touchdown and a 28-14 lead with 5:12 left in the first half. 

Despite taking such a major shot, Fields completed 11-of-16 throws for four touchdowns after the hit including a 45-yard strike to Jameson Williams and a 56-yarder to Olave in a legendary performance.

J.T. BARRETT: 33-OF-39 FOR 328 YARDS AND FOUR TOUCHDOWNS, 95 RUSHING YARDS VS. PENN STATE

Facing No. 2 Penn State in Ohio Stadium, J.T. Barrett played his best game as a Buckeye, throwing for 328 yards and four scores while chewing up another 95 yards on the ground in a come-from-behind 39-38 thriller over the Nittany Lions. 

Barrett helped the Buckeyes overcome two separate 18-point deficits while completing 33-of-39 passes - a stat that includes three drops. The performance saw him set OSU single-game records with 423 yards of total offense and 16 straight completions while tying Joe Germaine's school-record with his eighth 300-yard passing game. 

Down 35-20 entering the fourth quarter, Barrett completed 13-of-13 passes for 170 and three touchdowns as Ohio State outscored Penn State 19-3 to earn the one-point victory. 

It was truly a masterful all-around performance, just ask Urban Meyer who said, "I've never had a kid play perfect, but damn he was close tonight. I think that 'H' word is appropriate after today's game. This has to be one of the best -- this is one of the best (games) I've ever seen a quarterback play."

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