Third-year quarterback CJ Stroud (7) enters Ohio Stadium before No. 2 Ohio State’s 54-10 win over Iowa Oct. 22 in Columbus. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Picture the scene: Ohio State trailing by four with just over two minutes to play in regulation.
The Buckeyes just got the ball back and must go the length of the field to win the game. Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud does what he’s done all year — with the exception against Northwestern — leading a heroic drive as a game-winning touchdown pass cements Ohio State as Big Ten East champions.
Fans rush the field, confetti flies, champagne rains down from the heavens and all is right in Columbus.
If you don’t want the close-game, heart-racing, sweaty-palm scenario, picture this one: Stroud throws for five touchdowns and leads the Buckeyes to an enforcing victory over a potential top-four team in the country.
Either way, it’s a win over No. 3 Michigan, and Stroud rights the wrong from last year’s 42-27 loss and, barring a meltdown in the Big Ten Championship, gives Ohio State the golden ticket to a College Football Playoff return.
And he just about guarantees himself the Heisman Trophy.
For as much emphasis as there is on having a Heisman moment — a point during a Heisman Trophy winner’s season in which he has an otherworldly, gutsy performance — Stroud’s fate will be decided Nov. 26 at Ohio Stadium.
Despite wins not being a quarterback stat, in the Heisman Trophy’s case, they are.
The Heisman Trophy is rarely awarded to a player who is on an 8-4 team, regardless of how good he is or the impact he had in getting that team to eight wins.
Also, with college football’s shift to spread and air raid offenses, the Heisman Trophy is becoming a quarterback-centered award.
Since 2000, 18 of the 21 Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks, as former University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush had his award stripped due to NCAA violations.
Through 10 games this season, Stroud is tied for first in the Football Bowl Subdivision in touchdowns at 34 and leads the country in quarterback rating at 188.16. His 2,750 passing yards rank No. 18 in the FBS, but the 17 players ahead of him all have more pass attempts.
The only player with a higher yards-per-attempt mark than Stroud is Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback and fellow Heisman Trophy candidate Hendon Hooker.
Stroud currently leads the Heisman Trophy odds at +140, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with Hooker in second at +350. Others chasing at Stroud’s heels include Michigan junior running back Blake Corum and North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye both at +550.
Hooker is at a disadvantage because the Volunteers don’t control their own destiny to an SEC Championship and CFP appearance. Corum is a running back, and Maye hasn’t led the Tar Heels to any signature wins this season.
Stroud controls his own destiny.
Stroud and head coach Ryan Day have said the quarterback’s main focus is winning games and not on outside accolades, but on Nov. 26, he could get two victories for the price of one.
If the Inland Empire, California, native leads the Buckeyes to a win over Michigan, he’ll get his team win and hoist the Heisman Trophy in New York Dec. 10.
However, if the Buckeyes lose their second-straight game to the Wolverines, Stroud’s odds of becoming the first Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner since Troy Smith in 2006 are up in the air.
Stroud is no stranger to the Heisman Trophy conversation, making the trip to New York last season and finishing fourth in the voting.
At last year’s ceremony, former Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said his goal was to “come back, was to beat Ohio State and win a Big Ten Championship,” to which ESPN analyst Tim Tebow interjected and said, “Hey Kenny [Pickett], I’m glad you’re in between” Hutchinson and Stroud.
Then former Michigan wide receiver and ESPN analyst Desmond Howard jumped in and said Pickett was standing there “better than” Stroud’s “offensive lineman.”
Wouldn’t revenge be a dish best served cold? It will all come down to “The Game’s” result Nov. 26.
