Heisman Trophy watch 2021: Top 5 candidates after Week 1

The debut of Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud could have gone a little better against Minnesota, but not much as he threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns.

It did take Stroud a minute to get going in his first career start and he even threw an interception in the first half which allowed Minnesota to hang around.

But then he started connecting on bombs. Stroud has as much talent available to him in the passing game as any quarterback in the country and he connected on three touchdown passes of 56 yards or more in the win over the Gophers, all coming in the second half.

Stroud’s shortest touchdown pass was 38 yards and he needed just 22 passes for 294 yards which is an insane 13 yards per attempt.

His second start will come in a high-profile matchup Saturday against Oregon, a team many people view as a playoff contender in the PAC-12 and if Stroud shines in that game, he’s going to be a fixture in the Heisman race until season’s end.