QB C.J. Stroud delivers great performance in Ohio State football's loss to Georgia

ATLANTA — C.J. Stroud sat in front of a room of reporters and tried to put a heartbreaking loss into perspective.

In a College Football Playoff semifinal that turned into a back-and-forth affair, Stroud kept Ohio State in the mix late into the New Year’s Eve night.

“That was the most fun game I’ve ever played in my life,” Stroud said, “and it just sucks that it had to come down like that.”

Despite a prolific performance, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns against a vaunted defense, the Buckeyes came up short, a 42-41 setback at the hands of top-seeded Georgia that kept them from reaching the national championship game.

But looking back on the high-scoring thriller, Stroud reveled in the flow and the approach of their fine-tuned offense.

In the five weeks leading up Saturday night’s kickoff in the Peach Bowl, the Buckeyes had gone through 1,500 reps in practices, a figure charted by Keenan Bailey, a longtime member of their support staff.

“When we were out there, it was kind of like you knew what was going to happen,” Stroud said. “When you're playing like that, you're playing free. You're having fun.”

Stroud’s brilliance was evident from the earliest drives. Midway through the first quarter, he threw his first touchdown when he fled the pocket to buy time and signaled for Marvin Harrison Jr. to run toward the right side of the field, resulting in the 31-yard score.

On another scoring toss to Harrison in the second quarter, Stroud evaded multiple potential sacks, maintaining his composure behind the line of scrimmage before connecting with Harrison in a corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. Defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse was so close to bringing down Stroud that he was grasping his jersey in the backfield at one point.

“If he’s not the best player in the country right now, then I don’t know who is,” Harrison said. “I think he gave it his all.”

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Stroud, who finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding player in college football, raised his performance for the postseason.

Stroud used his legs as often as any point in his two seasons starting for the Buckeyes, both to extend plays as a passer and to pick up yards on the ground when plays broke down. Excluding four sacks, he ran for 70 yards on eight carries.

“He saw some open holes,” receiver Julian Fleming said, “and he was able to hit them. He was ripping off some big runs, some really clutch runs.”

“I saw those things that said he can’t run or he’s not tough enough to run,” Harrison said, “I think he showed he can.”

“That’s just the type of dude he is, giving it his all,” receiver Emeka Egbuka said, “running it is what it turned out to be.”

The biggest run from Stroud came in the final minute.

After Georgia’s go-ahead touchdown left the Buckeyes with possession with 54 seconds left, Stroud moved them onto the edge of field-goal range. Stroud scrambled for 27 yards to position Ohio State at the Bulldogs’ 31-yard line.

“I tried my hardest to get us down here,” Stroud said.

The Buckeyes didn’t get any closer. The drive fizzled out. Running back Dallan Hayden was stuffed for a loss of a yard, and two passes by Stroud fell incomplete on the following downs.

Then the potential game-winning field goal by Noah Ruggles, a career-long 50-yard attempt, went wide left.

Ohio State got the best of Stroud as several of its top playmakers were sidelined. Not only were TreVeyon Henderson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba out due to earlier injuries, but Harrison was placed in concussion protocol at the end of the injury and tight end Cade Stover exited in the first quarter due to a back injury.

Running back Miyan Williams was also limited to three carries after he fell ill earlier in the week.

“We were missing some guys out there,” OSU coach Ryan Day said, “and we were trying to figure it out. On the biggest stage, he played one of his best games.”

The 41 points allowed by the Bulldogs were the most they have surrendered all season, and the 467 total yards of offense were the second-most they had given up in 2022.

The possibility remains that Stroud’s performance against Georgia was his last in a scarlet-and-gray uniform. He’s eligible to declare for next spring’s NFL draft and is projected to be selected near the top of the first round if he becomes an early entrant.

If that turns out, Stroud was as good as ever against the defending champions.

“He just went out of his way today,” Fleming said. “He put everything on the line. He was taking hits, getting up, making the next play, making the next play, doing what a leader should do and what an NFL quarterback should do.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: C.J. Stroud delivers great performance in Ohio State's loss to Georgia