Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba Named To Associated Press All-Bowl Team

Stroud and Smith-Njigba had record-setting performances in the Rose Bowl win over Utah.

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba were named on Thursday to the Associated Press’ All-Bowl team for their efforts in the Buckeyes’ 48-45 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

With only Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game between Alabama and Georgia remaining on the postseason schedule, AP is releasing its all-bowl team. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were clear choices.

by @stevemegargee >> https://t.co/P9fSol9iZO pic.twitter.com/DXzCXscmLI

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 6, 2022

A redshirt freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Stroud threw for a school-record 573 yards and six touchdowns, which were the most in Rose Bowl history. It capped a season in which he was named finalist for the Heisman Trophy and set school records for completion percentage (71.9), passer rating (198.6) and yards per game (345.1).

“This is the Rose Bowl,” Stroud said after the game. “This is where legendary games have been played. If you aren’t motivated to play in it, I think I question your love of the game. 

"Every game I go out there, I try to do my best and make sure I prepare the right way and do the right things because you never know what can happen in the game.”

Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, tied his own school single-game record with 15 catches for 347 yards, the most ever in a single game in school and bowl history. The sophomore from Rockwall, Texas, finished the year with a school record 95 receptions for a school and Big Ten record 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns, three of which came in the Rose Bowl.

“I think Jaxon has done what he’s done all year, and that’s just play within himself,” head coach Ryan Day said. “Certainly, some of the plays he made tonight were tremendous. We leaned on him a lot. At one point, I asked him, ‘Are you tired?’ He looked at me like, ‘What are you, crazy?’ 

"He went back out there and played one of the best games probably in the history of the Rose Bowl.”

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