Jaxon Smith-Njigba Breaks Rose Bowl Receiving Record as OSU Tops Utah in Thriller

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

The No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 11 Utah Utes 48-45 in Saturday's Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to finish the 2021 season with an 11-2 record. 

The Buckeyes entered with a chip on their shoulder after missing out on the College Football Playoff for the first time in three years. The last time Ohio State took the field, Ryan Day's squad was embarrassed in a 42-27 loss to Michigan.

Saturday's game was Ohio State's 16th appearance in the Rose Bowl, entering with an 8-7 record in Pasadena. It was also the Buckeyes' first game against the Utes since 1986. They won that game 64-6.

Notable Stats

C.J. Stroud, QB, OSU: 37/46 for 572 YDS, 6 TD, 1 INT and 1 CAR for 10 YDS

Cameron Rising, QB, UTAH: 17/22 for 214 YDS, 2 TD and 11 CAR for 92 YDS, 1 TD

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Bryson Barnes, QB, UTAH: 2/2 for 23 YDS, 1 TD and 1 CAR for 10 YDS

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, OSU: 15 REC for 346 YDS, 3 TD

Britain Covey, WR, UTAH: 3 REC for 34 YDS, 1 TD and 2 CAR for 10 YDS and 7 KR for 208 YDS, 1 TD

Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, OSU: 6 REC for 71 YDS, 3 TD

Buckeyes Have Bright Future with C.J. Stroud

Stroud is incredible. There's no other way to put it.

The freshman quarterback was without two of his top three receivers in Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, but that didn't matter as he had one of his most productive games of the season.

Stroud completed 37 of 46 passes for 572 yards and six touchdowns against one interception.

After Ohio State was forced to punt on its first two drives of the game, Stroud orchestrated three consecutive touchdown drives before a fumble by Smith-Njigba close to the end zone in the second quarter. 

While Stroud ended the first half on a high note, he and the OSU offense got out to a rough start to open the third quarter. Stroud tossed an interception on the opening drive of the second half.

However, he began to heat up again as the half went on. He tossed a touchdown on his second drive of the third quarter before OSU tacked on a field goal to cut into Utah's lead, dicing the score to 38-31. In addition, he led a scoring drive to tie the game at 38 before helping the Buckeyes take the lead with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

In addition to Stroud, Smith-Njigba, who had a record-setting night, and Marvin Harrison Jr. also had incredible evenings. Smith-Njigba finished with 15 catches for 346 yards and three touchdowns. 

Smith-Njigba is now the Ohio State record holder for the most receiving yards in a game. Terry Glenn previously held the record, having recorded 253 yards against Pitt in 1995. He also has the most receiving yards in Rose Bowl game history.

While Smith-Njigba entered the game leading Ohio State with 80 catches for 1,259 yards, he ranked third behind Olave and Wilson with six touchdowns.

Harrison, a freshman, also had the best game of his career with Olave and Wilson out of the lineup. He finished with six catches for 71 yards and three touchdowns. For comparison, he entered with just five catches for 68 yards on the season.

Emeka Egbuka, another freshman receiver, also had a nice outing with three catches for 46 yards.

Both Olave and Wilson, who declared for the NFL draft, will be gone next season, which means players like Smith-Njigba, Harrison and Egbuka will be Stroud's primary receivers in 2022.

It should also be noted that the Buckeyes were without a whopping 24 players against Utah for various reasons, which makes their performance even more impressive.

If anything, Saturday's game showed us the Buckeyes are in good hands moving forward. Based on Stroud's performance, in addition to the performances of his receivers, Ohio State could very well be in the College Football Playoff next season. 

Utes in Good Hands with Cameron Rising

Rising didn't have a performance quite like Stroud's, but he's still worth talking about.

The sophomore quarterback completed 17 of 22 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 92 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. It was his most productive performance since a Nov. 13 win over Arizona when he threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 22 yards a score.

Rising and the Utes put together five consecutive scoring drives before ending the first half with a punt. One of his most impressive plays of the evening was breaking a tackle and rushing for a 62-yard score.

Rising had a difficult second half, and things got even worse when he was sacked by Ohio State's Kourt Williams II and had to be taken out of the game in the fourth quarter. He was replaced by freshman quarterback Bryson Barnes.

Despite the disappointing end to Rising's night, the Utes still have a bright future with him at quarterback.

Rising didn't begin the 2021 campaign as Utah's starting quarterback but earned the position after taking over for Charlie Brewer in an overtime loss to San Diego State on Sept. 18 and led the Utes to a Pac-12 championship.

Entering Saturday's game, Rising had completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 2,279 yards and 18 touchdowns against five interceptions, in addition to rushing for 407 yards and five scores.

Rising is a big reason the Utes even reached the Rose Bowl, and he'll undoubtedly be a reason they play in another bowl game next season.