C.J. Stroud knows how Ohio State football fans will view him after second Michigan loss
COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Stroud knows exactly how his time as Ohio State football’s starting quarterback might be remembered, and it’s not positive.
His numbers should have him mentioned among some of the greatest Buckeyes to play the position. The only person with more career passing yards or touchdowns is J.T. Barrett, and he needed two extra seasons to pile up his numbers. He was a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate in both years as a starter and has developed into a potential top NFL Draft pick.
But none of that is going to matter because of the two times he got on the field with the program OSU despises the most, he walked away on the losing side of things. It’s an unfortunate reality that he’s had to come to terms with.
“People are gonna say I never won The Game, and I understand,” Stroud said. “People are gonna say I never won a Big Ten championship, I understand. When it comes to that, I just have to eat it. That’s life. Nothing’s ever been easy for me. I didn’t expect to get it easy. When you pick up the cross, God puts you through more, and you have to be joyful in those moments.”
A 45-23 loss to Michigan might be the last game Stroud ever plays in Ohio Stadium. He’s still holding out hope that OSU can still find a way into the College Football Playoff as a one-loss nonconference champion. But it’s still up in the air whether he’ll ever play another game for OSU if that doesn’t happen.
That wasn’t his focus on Saturday evening. He instead took that moment to reflect on what’s been a rollercoaster of an experience for him as QB1. He’s experienced every emotion over the past two seasons, whether it be the excitement about what he could be, being booed by his own fan base as they demanded him to be benched, to the exciting moments that often followed breakout games.
Regardless of how people felt about him at different periods of his tenure, he handled all of it the same. He’d graciously step to the podium — first thanking God — answering every question, and making sure everyone knew he gave it his all regardless of the end result.
That was on full display on Saturday as Stroud did what he’s always done while his family watched in the background.
“I stopped living a personal life,” Stroud said. “I let everything go. My mom, she’ll be the one to admit sometimes I don’t even pick up the phone because I’m locked in. I’m watching film. I’m doing anything I can possibly do to win this game. I hope people appreciate that, but I know they probably won’t. It is what it is.
“There’s no stone I didn’t try to turn over to win this game. You’ve just gotta swallow this pill. It’s gonna hurt (but) I’m just gonna stay prayed up.”
Stroud’s relationship with the Ohio State fanbase has always been complicated at best and a second loss to Michigan cemented that. His record as a starter is 21-3, and it’s fair to make the argument that none of those losses are because of anything he was lacking, even if he willingly takes on the blame.
“I definitely played with as much heart as I could,” Stroud said. “I definitely tried to do anything I could to win this game. But at the end of the day, it’s on me. I’m the quarterback. I take all blame. I take all the credit. … At the end, I gotta do more. I wish I could’ve.”
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Unfortunately, Stroud will be known in Ohio State history as the talented quarterback who could efficiently pile on the stats but never won the games that mattered most, whether that be an early season loss to Oregon in 2021 or back-to-back losses to Michigan. It’ll be a stain on his resume that he’ll have to live with.
It’s a tough reality to have, but he’s already started the process of being at peace with it. He knows he did everything he could to put Ohio State in a position to have success. But he also knows that football is a results-based business.
“I said it earlier this week that I want to be known as the best, and I don’t think I’ll have that respect from Buckeye Nation anymore,” Stroud said. “If I do, I appreciate it. I wish I could’ve done more. I wish I could’ve won these games, but no one can question my heart.
“No one can question how hard I tried to win this game. I left everything on the table. There’s no rock I didn’t flip over. Nothing I could’ve done more other than play better today. But it’s not like I left it to chance.”
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