Pasadena, Calif. • The Rose Bowl became a matter of survival for the University of Utah.
Surviving an offensive onslaught from Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Surviving a decimated secondary, which saw Micah Bernard move from running back to cornerback and start. Surviving shoddy special teams. Surviving Cam Rising leaving with an apparent head injury in the fourth quarter.
Heroics from, of all people, walk-on quarterback Bryson Barnes nearly ensured survival, but Ohio State had the last laugh.
After Barnes engineered a touchdown drive to tie the game, a 19-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles with nine seconds remaining gave the Buckeyes a wild 48-45 win in front of 87,842.
Stroud’s 30-yard touchdown to Jaxson Smith-Njigba with 4:22 left finally brought the lead to Ohio State. But Barnes, who came in for Rising despite Ja’Quinden Jackson being available, had an answer.
On the ensuing drive following Njigba’s third touchdown, bringing him to a Rose Bowl record 326 receiving yards, Utah went run-heavy with Barnes at quarterback, but at some point, he had to make a play. His throw to Britain Covey along the left sideline went for nine yards. The Milford native then ran for 10 yards on third-and-1. Two plays later, he lofted one to the back of the end zone, 15 yards to Dalton Kincaid to tie the game at 45 with 1:54 remaining.
A fourth-and-3 pass from Cam Rising to Brant Kuithe went for only two yards and a turnover on downs, setting Ohio State up at its own 29-yard line with 13:53 to go in the game.
Seven plays and 71 yards later, Ohio State tied the game at 38 after Stroud hit Marvin Harrison Jr., for a 5-yard touchdown towards the back-left corner of the end zone after he beat All-Pac-12 cornerback Clark Phillips III.
Utah staked itself to a 14-0 first-quarter lead behind Rising, who at one point completed eight consecutive passes. After going three-and-out twice to start the game, then settled in, cutting the deficit in half thanks to a 25-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Harrison Jr.
Then, things got nuts.
Five touchdowns were scored over a span of just 2:43.
A Tavion Thomas 6-yard run through a gaping hole, his 21st touchdown of the season, opened the lunacy.
With Utah’s cornerbacks room decimated by injury and Stroud intent on picking on Bernard in his first-ever game reps there, Stroud hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 50-yard score.
A Britain Covey 97-yard touchdown run shook the press box.
Stroud hit Smith-Njigba on the very next play for a touchdown, this one going 52 yards as he sprinted after the catch and beat Bernard to the pylon.
At that point, Utah, buoyed by those two early scores, led, 28-21, but tacked on one more on before halftime.
On fourth-and-1 from his own 38-yard line, Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig got aggressive as Ohio State was getting anything it wanted. He called a Rising keeper for the fourth time in the first half as his quarterback broke one tackle, then outran everyone for a 68-yard touchdown, sending Utah to the locker room up, 35-21.
The Tribune will update this story.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3eE8Mk6
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