Ohio State Football: Ridiculous CJ Stroud stat in win vs. Minnesota

It was clear that Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud found his rhythm in the second half of Thursday night’s game against Minnesota. The explosive plays everyone expected out of the Ohio State offense were flowing. 

But this eye-popping stat shows just how impressive 19-year-old C.J. Stroud’s performance was after halftime.

“#Buckeyes C.J. Stroud averaged 47.2 yards per completion in the second half” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg tweeted following the game. “Only completed five passes, but they were big ones.”

Four of Stroud’s five second-half competitions went for six. The first touchdown pass of his Ohio State career was a 38-yard throw to wide receiver Chris Olave. Olave’s counterpart Garrett Wilson caught the next completion, a 56-yard score on the first play of the Buckeyes’ second drive of the second half. True freshman and former five-star recruit TreVeyon Henderson got in on the action with a screen pass he took 70 yards down the field. Olave caught the final touchdown pass of the night for 61 yards. 

After just 58 passing yards and an interception in the first half, Stroud added 236 yards and four touchdowns in the second half to seal the 45-31 win over the Gophers. 

“I mean yeah, I have great teammates, but I think I’m a good player too,” Stroud said after the game. “The first half may not have shown that, but I think I did really good in the second half.”

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day emphasized how difficult pulling off a second half like Stroud did is in the Big Ten. 

“You don’t just walk out at Ohio State at quarterback and expect to throw 3-4 touchdown passes and call it a day in this conference,” Day said. “Minnesota is a very good team and PJ does an excellent job. That’s a very well coached, hard-playing team. Going on the road is not easy in this conference to get wins. It doesn’t just happen.”

The Buckeyes are not going on the road next weekend, but they do welcome No. 11 Oregon and potential No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft Kayvon Thibodeaux. Stroud will need to avoid a slow start if Ohio State wants to defeat the Ducks in Columbus.

Ohio State running back room showed its depth

In addition to the big plays in the passing game, the Buckeyes have a committee of elite running backs. Myrian Williams scored Ohio State’s first touchdown of the season, a 71-yard score on the first possession. 

Williams finished the night with eight additional carries and 125 total yards, an average of 13.9 yards per carry. Running back Master Teague had six touches for 29 yards. 

While Henderson’s score was on a pass play, he demonstrated his speed and evasiveness which will translate well to the run game when he gets additional touches. At 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, Henderson will be tough to bring down.