C.J. Stroud made a statement in the first half against Michigan State with six touchdown passes and so did Ohio State football as it built a 49-0 lead.
We don’t know who the Heisman Trophy winner will be. But after the first half demolition of Michigan State at the hands of Ohio State, we know who it won’t be.
It won’t be Kenneth Walker III, who despite a stellar season, saw his team shut out in the first half while C.J. Stroud played the best half of football anyone has seen this season or from any college football quarterback in a long time.
The numbers aren’t just impressive, they are ridiculous.
Stroud threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter alone for Ohio State but that was just the warmup as he did the same in the second. When the half was completed, Stroud was 29-of-31 for 393 yards and six touchdowns.
The last ✌️ FBS QBs to throw for at least 6 TDs in the first half:
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) November 20, 2021
➡️ Joe Burrow, 2019 Peace Bowl vs. OU
➡️ C.J. Stroud, 2021 vs. MSU pic.twitter.com/oEM1pIbkO8
If that’s not pitching a perfect game, I don’t know what is.
Of course, it helps when you are facing a terrible pass defense, and Michigan State was ranked last in the Big Ten coming in, and Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson — the entire Ohio State offense really — have made the Spartans pay.
Olave caught seven passes for 140 yards and two scores, while Wilson also went over 100 with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns of his own on which went for 77 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba also caught eight for 76 and a score too.
https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1462126507438919680
Olave and Wilson each have more receiving yards than Michigan State has total yards in the first half, and Stroud had nearly as many touchdowns (6) as Payton Thorne has completions (8).
There it is. 🙌@chrisolave_ just broke David Boston's school receiving TD record (35) , and No. 4 @OhioStateFB is rolling. pic.twitter.com/9aIwYdxrBH
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 20, 2021
While I predicted that Stroud would go off, I didn’t see him throwing for nearly 400 yards and six touchdowns in the first half.
But Ohio State has the best offense in the country and right now, the Buckeyes appear headed towards the College Football Playoff.
Michigan looms next week but if Stroud and the Buckeyes play the way they did in the first half, against Michigan State, it’s hard to see the Wolverines or anyone else in the Big Ten slowing them down.
And in the Heisman race, it’s hard not to see Stroud as the new frontrunner following a dominant five-game stretch. Bryce Young is probably the only guy who can beat him at this point.