Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham compares Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud to former Oregon
C.J. Stroud helped lead Ohio State football to a big win in a back-and-forth Rose Bowl Game, with the Buckeyes outlasting Utah 48-45. After Saturday’s game, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said that Stroud was likely the best quarterback his team faced since former Oregon Ducks star and current Los Angeles Chargers Pro Bowl pick Justin Herbert.
“I would say that’s probably accurate. The kid is tremendous,” Whittingham said. “Like I said, the QBR, the quarterback rating system that ESPN uses, which in my estimation is the most accurate and the most telling of statistics for determining how well your quarterback’s playing, he leads the nation. I think you saw it tonight why.”
Stroud completed 37 of 46 passes for 573 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. After the game, which saw receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba set a bowl record with 347 receiving yards, Stroud said the Buckeyes were motivated to play well after struggling against Michigan in the final regular-season game.
“I think what motivated us wasn’t just this game, but the previous game,” Stroud said. “I know that was my motivation, just getting that bad taste out of our team’s mouth and ending the season the right way and sending our seniors off the right way. That was probably the most important thing for me.
“Then on top of that, this is the Rose Bowl, man,” Stroud said. “This is where the legendary games are being played. If you aren’t motivated to play, I question your love of the game. Every game I go out there, I try to do my best and make sure I prepare the right way and do the right things because you never know what can happen in the game.
“My job is to lead the team, lead our offense, and I’ve got to watch — I have to do everything I need to do to lead our offense on the field,” Stroud said.
Stroud’s performance was necessary after Ohio State was forced to go more pass-heavy after falling down by double digits.
“Yeah, I thought early on we really wanted to mix it up. So I guess we had just over 100-something yards rushing. And then we went down a couple scores,” said Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. “We hit on some big passes, like I think there was three series in a row we had like two or three plays that just kind of kept going. Then we got into a rhythm throwing the ball,” Day said. “I thought we did have a good mix of run and pass. Some of the stuff that will show up on the stat sheet as passes are run-pass options, whether they’re bubbles or throws down the field. I thought C.J. did an excellent job of executing in those spots. So, yeah, we were a little pass heavy here, but I did think that we played with more physicality up front. I thought the offensive line handled their front very well. They have a good front. I thought we blocked and ran a little harder than maybe in the last couple games. So that was a big emphasis coming in, but we’re always looking for a great balance.”
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