Stroud threw for 432 yards and a career-high six touchdown passes in last year's 56-7 win over the Spartans.
In three games against Power 5 opponents this season, Michigan State has allowed Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan and Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa to throw for a combined 979 yards and eight touchdowns with zero interceptions.
But with all due respect to those quarterbacks, who have each led their programs to a 4-1 record this season, 326.3 yards and 2.67 touchdowns per game is a below average day for Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
In fact, Stroud has thrown for 341.8 yards and 3.64 touchdowns per game in 17 career starts. That includes 432 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in a little more than one half of last season’s 56-7 win over the Spartans, who were the seventh-ranked team in the country at the time.
Michigan State’s pass defense hasn’t improved since that game, as it doesn’t take much to go from the worst unit in the country to 114th nationally. And that’s why this is the perfect game for Stroud, who hasn’t been asked to do much this season, to pull away in the race for this year’s Heisman Trophy.
With redshirt sophomore running back Miyan Williams unavailable and sophomore TreVeyon Henderson returning from a lingering foot injury, the Buckeyes would be wise to rely on Stroud’s arm to win the game.
There’s no reason to put too much on Henderson’s plate, as getting him healthy for the second half of the season takes priority over a heavy workload against a 27-point underdog, especially if Williams is out for an extended period of time.
Sure, the Spartans will know what’s coming. But they simply don’t have the defensive personnel to stop it.
That said, the only thing that can prevent Stroud from throwing for 500-plus yards and six-plus touchdowns on Saturday is head coach Ryan Day, who will have to decide if getting backup Kyle McCord reps is more important than giving his quarterback a leg up in the Heisman race.
With Alabama quarterback and defending Heisman winner Bryce Young uncertain for this evening's game against Texas A&M, there’s even more reason for Day to let Stroud loose. If that happens, the Downtown Athletic Club might as well go ahead and start engraving his name into the trophy.
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