Despite entering halftime down by 14 points, No. 6 Ohio State used a second-half comeback to push past No. 11 Utah 48-45, thanks to a 19-yard field goal from graduate kicker Noah Ruggles with nine seconds remaining.
Redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud led the Buckeyes 56 yards in six plays to put Ruggles in position to hit the game winner.
One play after converting a crucial fourth down, sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made an incredible touchdown catch to give Ohio State its first lead of the game with 4:22 remaining in regulation. Ohio State scored 17 unanswered points to jump out in front of the Utes.
Utah came right back, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown strike from freshman quarterback Bryson Barnes to junior tight end Dylan Kincaid, to tie the game.
Ohio State tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a five-yard touchdown strike from Stroud to freshman wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Buckeyes’ offense struggled to find a rhythm early in the game, going three-and-out in their first two possessions. Redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud completed just two of his first four passes while Ohio State’s offense stalled.
Utah took advantage of the Buckeyes’ slow offensive start, bursting out to a 14-0 lead behind a pair of touchdown strikes from sophomore quarterback Cameron Rising.
But, Ohio State’s offense could not be held down for long. Stroud opened the second quarter with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Harrison to cut the Utah lead in half.
The Buckeyes scored all 21 of their first-half points in the second quarter, but Utah answered on each of Ohio State’s scores to take a 35-21 lead into the half. Utah’s most notable score came after Smith-Njigba’s first touchdown of the day, as Utah junior wide receiver Britain Covey broke free for a 97-yard kick return touchdown to push the Utes’ lead back to double digits.
Smith-Njigba nearly made it a one-score game before the half, hauling in a pass from Stroud and finding daylight. But the ball was popped out of his arms at the Utah 3-yard line by freshman cornerback Clark Phillips III and was recovered by the Utes in the end zone.
Ohio State and Utah endured a three-minute stretch in which five touchdowns were scored during the middle stages of the second quarter.
Smith-Njigba shined as the feature receiver Saturday — with senior Chris Olave and junior Garrett Wilson opting out of the Rose Bowl — hauling in 15 receptions for an Ohio State single-game record 346 yards and three touchdowns.
Smith-Njigba also broke the Rose Bowl receiving yards record, as well as the Ohio State single-season receiving yard and receptions record.
Freshmen Harrison and Emeka Egbuka, as well as sophomore Julian Fleming, also saw increased playing time behind Olave and Wilson’s absences. Harrison led the way for the trio, hauling in six catches for 71 yards and three scores.
Stroud fed his young, new-look receiving corps with a terrific passing display — throwing for an Ohio State single-game record 573 yards and six touchdowns with a completion percentage of 80 percent.
The Buckeyes’ passing attack keyed Ohio State to 683 total yards while the run game faltered — producing only 110 yards on the ground.
While Ohio State’s offense produced, its defense struggled to keep Utah’s offense at bay. The Utes unleashed a balanced attack on the Buckeyes, picking up 237 yards through the air and 226 yards on the ground. The Buckeyes defense held Utah to 10 points in the second half.
Rising threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns behind an 17-for-22 performance, while spreading the ball out to seven different receivers. The sophomore quarterback led the Utah ground game with 92 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter with an injury.
Sophomore running back Tavion Thomas supported Rising’s rushing performance, adding 67 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio State is now 9-7 in the Rose Bowl.
