Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from tough loss to Oregon

2. CJ Stroud played well, but had some bad misses

CJ Stroud had a very interesting game, as he finished with nearly 500 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 64.8 percent of his passes, but unfortunately, his misses are what is going to be talked about most.

His misses all shared the same theme, which is that the ball was thrown either too high or too far.

Garrett Wilson had at least two occasions where he beat his defender off the ball and should have had a touchdown but was missed on the throw. Stroud’s one interception of the day came on a ball that was way over Chris Olave’s head.

This does seem like it is more of a mechanical issue rather than what defines Stroud as a player. It is important to remember that this was Stroud’s second career college start. He will go through growing pains just like most other QB’s.

Stroud has good mobility and great arm strength, so there is a good baseline to work with. The problem is he is the QB for a team who has playoff aspirations every year and little patience for games like today.

And with many more five-star recruits behind him, Stroud will feel the pressure that will make his next outings even more interesting.