It’s the smell that got to C.J. Stroud. Well, that among other things in the multi-sensory assault that was his first Rose Bowl.
Talk all you want about the Rose and its many distinctions — sunset over the San Gabriel Mountains, a parade that almost supersedes the game itself, Keith Jackson’s voice floating in some ethereal cloud above it all — there is always that moment for newcomers.
For Ohio State’s junior quarterback, it was, well, everything.
“I would say roses, that’s what it’s about,” Stroud said. “It’s unique. It’s smells good. It looks good. It feels good. Best grass I ever played on in my life. It’s just everything about it is what I expected it to be. This is why the Rose Bowl is special.”
That from a kid who grew up within an hour of Pasadena, California. It’s one thing to watch the Grandaddy of ‘Em All on TV; it’s another to experience the game’s uniqueness.
In addition to the sights, colors and smells, for the No. 2 Buckeyes, it is where the 2021 season ended and the 2022 season began.
Anyone who witnessed that game on Jan. 1 might still have their head spinning from Ohio State’s 48-45 win over Utah. Stroud threw for a school-record 573 yards and school record-tying six touchdowns. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba announced himself with 15 catches for an FBS bowl-record 347 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
“It was a combination of great minds and great players,” Stroud said. “… That was the most fun I [had playing] in my life.”
“Maybe some places, 11-2 and a Rose Bowl victory is a good year. It isn’t at Ohio State,” coach Ryan Day said.
The result revealed both to be true. Combined, the lingering Rose Bowl scent, feeling and look was an explanation point for what was ultimately a sub-standard season at Ohio State. However, it also served as a jumping off point for Stroud and Smith-Njigba.
“That was the goal going into it,” Day said of that springboard for his star offensive players. “We talked about it going in.”
Now, the two biggest Buckeye weapons are the Rat Pack of 2022, inseparable buddies who play off one another. Stroud is the Heisman Trophy favorite with 2-1 odds entering the season, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Just outside the top 10 on that list is Smith-Njigba; arguably the game’s best receiver sits at 40-1. Between them is another burgeoning superstar as OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson enters the year at 20-1.
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