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6 | The Lantern | Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022
thelantern.com @TheLantern
Opinion: Casey’s Callouts: Stroud’s Heisman
fate will be decided against Michigan
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-win-
ning 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 Mich-
igan, and Stroud rights the wrong from
last year’s 42-27 loss and, barring a melt-
down 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 sea-
son 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.
CASEY SMITH
LTV Sports Producer
ZACHARY RILLEY | PHOTO EDITOR
Third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) enters Ohio Stadium before No. 2 Ohio State’s 54-10
win over Iowa Oct. 22 in Columbus.
The Heisman Trophy is rarely award-
ed to a player who is on an 8-4 team, re-
gardless 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-cen-
tered award.
Since 2000, 18 of the 21 Heisman Tro-
phy 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 Sub-
division 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 Ten-
nessee redshirt senior quarterback and
fellow Heisman Trophy candidate Hen-
don Hooker.
Stroud currently leads the Heisman
Trophy odds at +140, according to Draft-
Kings Sportsbook, with Hooker in sec-
ond 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 win-
ning 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 Michi-
gan, 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 Mich-
igan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson
said his goal was to “come back, was to
beat Ohio State and win a Big Ten Cham-
pionship,” to which ESPN analyst Tim
Tebow interjected and said, “Hey Ken-
ny [Pickett], I’m glad you’re in between”
Hutchinson and Stroud.
Then former Michigan wide receiv-
er 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.
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