CJ Stroud assesses performance of Ohio State offense in Week 1 victory

The Ohio State Buckeyes handled a tough task at home when they defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to open up the 2022 season. The Irish held the Buckeyes’ potent offense in check for much of the game, taking a 10-7 lead into the half. However, Heisman-hopeful quarterback CJ Stroud and the offense found their footing late to cap off the night with a 21-10 victory. After having a few days to digest what happened, Stroud assessed the performance of the Buckeyes’ offense in their Week 1 victory.

“Just looking at the film, definitely think we did some great things on offense; moving the ball when we had to — definitely seen a lot more man than we expected,” said Stroud. “So we gotta clean some up things with man-on-man routes — me bodying them up when the defenders all up on them, just little things like that. But I feel like we did well with pass protection. Pass protection was amazing the whole night. My o-line did a great job, and they even dropped nine, and we still got a third down conversion.

“So, I’m proud of my guys for fighting. Not knowing all the looks like we’re going to get going into Week 1, especially against a tough team like Notre Dame, the No.5 team in the country. It was kind of tough knowing that they are going to do some different things, and I felt like we handled it well.”

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The Buckeyes’ offense eventually wore down the Fighting Irish defense thanks to their bruising rushing attack. Both running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams averaged at least six yards per carry. Their punishing rushing style eventually led to cracks in Notre Dame’s defense, allowing Stroud to find opportunities in the passing game. But what Stroud really enjoyed about the Buckeyes’ rushing attack is it helped take a step in the direction of removing a label the team picked up last season:

“It’s a great feeling. I definitely think that that’s something that we’ve been pushing since the offseason —not just running the ball for two to three (yards) but trying to get four, five, or six every play. And I think that we did that,” Stroud said.

“I know Miyan averaged six yards a carry; Trey probably averaged somewhere around there too. Even when stuff wasn’t there, they were running through people, which I think you need, and I think that we built it in the offseason—just lifting weights, pushing sleds, and doing things like that. We definitely change the narrative on that, this game. But one game doesn’t define us, so we gotta keep on doing it.”