CJ Stroud praises Ohio State defensive line vs Penn State
The Ohio State Buckeyes may be the hottest team in the entire nation. They’re hitting their stride — quarterback C.J. Stroud leading the offense, and a ferocious defense keeping opponents at bay.
After a slow start to the season, Stroud has become a contender for The Heisman Trophy. Last night against Penn State, Stroud continued his tremendous play — passing for 305 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the football, the Ohio State defensive line had Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford on edge all night. To illustrate, Clifford was sacked four times, fumbled once and was also intercepted.
After the game, Stroud told ESPN’s Holly Rowe iron sharpens iron. Evidently, the Ohio State quarterback believes going up against the team’s defensive line in practice makes the offense better.
“Man, it’s tough because you see them everyday in practice. Zack, Tyreke, they all do a great job, even the young guys do a great job and seeing them in practice helps us a lot,” said Stroud. “It gives our offensive line great looks, give me great looks for stepping in the pocket. I’m just blessed.”
Ironically, their talented defensive line is the Buckeyes secret weapon on offense. Either way, their offense has catapulted into one of the nations best over recent weeks.
Stroud: ‘Nobody can stop us.’
Furthermore, Stroud made a bold claim while giving high praise to the Ohio State offense after the game.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot. And then we just got rolling,” Stroud said to Rowe after the game. “I feel like we’re the best offense in the country and when we get rolling nobody can stop us.”
Stroud’s claim might not be far fetched at all. Ohio State has led the nation by gaining 547.6 yards per game this season. The Buckeyes average 346.3 passing yards per game, which is sixth in the country. Ohio State’s 47.3 points per game also leads the nation.
Saturday’s game against Penn State was only the second time Ohio State has failed to score 41 points in a game. The other occurrence was in Week 2’s loss to Oregon. Coming into the weekend, Ohio State’s offense had been downright dominant with at least 52 points in four consecutive games.
‘I thought we could do a lot better but we got the job done.’
It was an all-around solid effort by Ohio State on Saturday. In addition to Stroud’s strong game, the running game was productive as well. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson rushed 28 times for 152 yards and a touchdown. Receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson each had at least six receptions and 82 yards, while Chris Olave caught a touchdown.
Stroud admitted that Saturday’s game wasn’t the best from Ohio State’s offense. But the young quarterback knew he had to be a leader, and that is exactly what he did. Stroud went on to praise the entirety of Ohio State’s offense, including the line and other playmakers.
“Yeah on my part, I just had to be a leader,” Stroud said. “It wasn’t the greatest game we played. I thought we could do a lot better but we got the job done. On my part, I feel like we all did a great job. Linemen did a great job, running backs, tight ends, receivers. We’re just blessed.”
Ohio State is now 7-1 on the season and Stroud has enjoyed a great season. He has thrown for 2,270 yards, 23 touchdowns, and three interceptions on the year. All three of Stroud’s interceptions came in the first three weeks of the season.