C.J. Stroud delivered iconic moments, solidified Buckeyes legacy, even in defeat

ATLANTA — C.J. Stroud was in the middle of stacking iconic moments on top of each other.

The Ohio State quarterback, Heisman Trophy finalist and often-questioned-by-outsiders leader of the Buckeyes offense just kept silencing those who questioned him for the last five weeks, not to mention the pro-Georgia crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday night.

Stroud’s Peach Bowl performance will be remembered for so many moments. It was evading pressure to throw a touchdown strike to Marvin Harrison Jr. for the game’s opening score. And again, maybe even more impressively, getting away from Bulldogs defenders for the second touchdown toss of the game, again the his top target.

It was a 27-yard scramble to put his team in position to take down the defending national champs.

Make no mistake: Stroud would much rather have won the game than to play so well and lose. That’s why, as a 50-yard field goal attempt hooked wide left in the closing seconds, Stroud hung his head as Georgia rejoiced on the other sideline, knowing his team fell 42-41 in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl.

Stroud has every reason to be upset with the loss. But his performance proved so many things right about who C.J. Stroud is as a quarterback — and it put to bed any question of how willing he is to be great.

“I told him after the game, I told him that was the best game I’ve ever seen him play,” starting left tackle Paris Johnson told Lettermen Row after the game. “All the things he did were so dynamic, kept the ball moving, just real clean with the ball. You know, and I felt like he put his body out there for us. We appreciated it.”

Stroud took a third-down sack on the Buckeyes first possession, and they punted. But he bounced back to lead Ohio State on three straight scoring drives — all three touchdowns — to help them take a 21-7 lead. Once Georgia stormed back to reclaim the lead, Stroud didn’t panic.

Instead, he marched Ohio State down the field. Four plays, 75 yards, six points, halftime lead. And it didn’t stop there. On the first Buckeyes possession of the second half, he lead another touchdown drive to push the lead back to two scores.

And only after his top target Marvin Harrison Jr., the best receiver in the country, left with an injury, the offense began to struggle. Stroud still found ways to get the Buckeyes in position to win the game in the closing moments.

No Jaxon Smith-Njigba. No TreVeyon Henderson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Cade Stover. Limited Miyan Williams. Stroud still gave his team a shot.

“If he’s not the best player in country right now, then I don’t know who is,” Harrison said in the locker room after the game. “I think he gave it his all. … I think he showed that today. He can do anything you want of him on the football field. And he’s such a great leader for this team. I’m going to miss him, personally, and this whole team’s going to miss him.

“He’s just such a great player, and I’m blessed to play a whole year with him.”

It was one thing for Stroud to get it done with his arm; he is an elite, gifted passer. But he needed to move the ball with his legs — and he did just that. The stat sheet shows that Stroud finished the Peach Bowl with just 34 rushing yards. Take out the four sacks he took, and he carried the ball for 70, the second most of his career, trailing only the 79 yards he had at Northwestern in mid-November.

His best run? That 27 yards in the final minute to get the Buckeyes in position to win the game with a field goal.

“He played his heart out,” tight end Joe Royer told Lettermen Row. “You know that dude, this is everything to him, and he he proved that. A guy like that often doesn’t lower his shoulder and take off like that, but he was trying to do anything to give us the best chance of winning. You know, I got all love for that dude.”

All the love from outside the program wasn’t directed at Stroud before the Peach Bowl. He had five weeks to hear Ohio State fans and folks from every corner of the college football world criticize him for not taking the easy yards on the ground. For not being fiery enough of a competitor. For not evading pressure and finding receivers.

He put all of that to bed Saturday night. He made play after play after play.

So don’t remember C.J. Stroud for hanging his head once the confetti started flying from the ceiling of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Georgia rushed the field to celebrate.

His iconic moments — even in defeat — are worth celebrating.

“Just the way he attacked this game, I couldn’t be any prouder of the way he did that,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Like you said, we were missing some guys out there, and we were trying to figure it out. On the biggest stage, he played one of his best games, in my opinion.”