OHIO STA TE VS. MICHIGAN Schedule your appointment to donate blood today Runs through 10/26 - 11/23 BLOOD BATTLE 2022 Blood donated with Versiti benefits patients of The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. 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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