Snap Judgments as Ohio State steals epic win in Rose Bowl shootout

PASADENA, Calif. — Ohio State has plenty of time to pick apart the finer details.

All the Buckeyes wanted to do was take a few roses home with them first.

In one of the wilder postseason affairs in program history, Ohio State overcame a sloppy start, a ton of roster attrition and a hostile crowd in Southern California thanks to a truly epic passing performance and a gritty second half. Utah turned it into a shootout, but the Buckeyes hit the final mark in a 48-45 decision on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.

For a matchup that seemed like little more than a consolation prize for Ohio State after the regular season, it sure delivered a thrilling performance that made it clear how badly it wanted to cap the year with a victory. And it did just that.

Bottom line: The outcome didn’t truly change anything for Ohio State after coming up short of its championship goals — but the victory sure beat the alternative for a proud program.

That’s where the postgame coverage begins for Lettermen Row as Ohio State closes the year with a win and gets ready to retool for a title run next season.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is clearly ready to lead Ohio State

There was never any real doubt about the upside with Jaxon Smith-Njigba considering how productive he was as a sophomore. But just in case there were any holdouts wondering if that was merely a product of being surrounded by Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, the display in the Rose Bowl should have erased all of it — and paved the way for a Biletnikoff Trophy run next season. Smith-Njigba was flat-out un-coverable for Utah, and he more than made up for his only bobble with a first-half fumble by setting a single-game Ohio State record for receiving yards with his relentless effort. Smith-Njigba is a bonafide star, with or without those other NFL targets on the field with him.

Ohio State defensive effort understandable, still painful

The context is important for Ohio State, but that doesn’t make it any less bewildering to watch a proud defensive program getting routinely gashed and looking completely helpless. Obviously the Buckeyes were missing key personnel going into the Rose Bowl, the situation didn’t get any better with a targeting ejection and major injury in the first half — and this is a team that already knew the problems were significant enough that a new coordinator was hired last month. But that doesn’t excuse shoddy tackling, and clearly the retooled staff is going to have just as much fundamental work to do as schematic in the offseason. There’s only so much stock that can be put into the non-College Football Playoff bowls, but Saturday afternoon was a clear reminder of why changes are coming on that side of the ball.

C.J. Stroud is building something special for Buckeyes

Villain Mode might turn out to be pretty frightening as C.J. Stroud set the table for his next Heisman Trophy campaign with an electrifying performance in the Rose Bowl. Even without two first-round wide receivers available, Stroud was in complete command of the attack and continued to raise the ceiling of what he can become by slicing through Utah with confident decisions and pinpoint accuracy. The redshirt freshman quarterback even sparked Ohio State to life early with a scramble for a first down that showed another aspect of his game that can cause fits for defenders. Clearly Stroud has done some special work already since he was a fourth-place finisher in the Heisman race in is first season as a starter. But he stamped himself as a legitimate threat to win it all next season with a prolific New Year’s Day.