With Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson opting out of the game, Jaxon Smith-Njigba rewrote the record books as he took a flamethrower to the Utah defense.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State heroes. Whether they are the biggest names in Buckeye athletic history, or underappreciated icons; perhaps even players who made major impacts off the field.
You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Buckeye Heroes” articles here.
Ohio State fans are well aware of the heroics of wide receivers. The Buckeyes have boasted one of the nation’s most talented wide receiver groups for a long time. Just when you think you think you know who the best wide receiver ever to play for Ohio State is, it changes. The new “best” guy comes in and impresses.
Whether that has peaked (or is about to) with Jeremiah Smith remains to be seen, but it’s worth revisiting the great careers, seasons, and games that the wideouts have entertained us with over the years.
As such, when this year’s theme weeks schedule came out, I couldn’t wait to talk about Jaxon Smith-Njigba, because I wanted to revisit his otherworldly performance in the 2022 Rose Bowl against Utah. All of the superlatives apply to the Nacogdoches, Texas native for so many of the things he did while wearing the iconic Scarlet & Gray OSU uniform, but his performance in the 108th edition of the Rose Bowl classic on Jan. 1, 2022, takes the proverbial cake.
The Buckeyes were coming off the sting of the first of what is now an annoying string of losses to Michigan. That, combined with a September loss to Oregon by one touchdown at home put the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl — a place that would have been the envy of many college football programs. But Ohio State lost that game in Ann Arbor as the nation’s No. 3 team, meaning it squandered an opportunity to participate in the College Football Playoff.
The Utah Utes were far more excited to be in Pasadena than the Buckeyes. Utah had racked up losses at BYU, San Diego State, and Oregon State. But the Utes were strong down the stretch, winning six straight games, including a 38-7 dismantling of then-No. 3 Oregon to earn a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game, where Utah again met the Ducks. The rematch wasn’t much closer, as the Utes destroyed Oregon, 38-10, to book a spot in the Rose Bowl opposite the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes were dealing with both Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson sitting out of the game to stay healthy for the NFL Draft. Not many teams could withstand nearly 2,000 yards of receiving sitting out a bowl game, but Ohio State is not many teams.
It was apparent which side had more energy to start the game. Utah jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, behind the moxie of quarterback Cameron Rising and playmakers like wide receiver Britain Covey and tight end Brant Kuithe. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offense was stuck in park, going three-and-out twice on back-to-back drives, totaling just 11 yards. That start made what eventually happened all the more impressive.
The Buckeyes put on an offensive clinic starting with their final drive of the first quarter, which spilled into the second quarter. That clinic was led by quarterback C.J. Stroud and Smith-Njigba, who proved to be all but uncoverable that evening. Smith-Njigba set school, bowl game, and FBS receiving records with an insane 347 yards. He amassed those three-and-a-half football fields worth of yardage on 15 receptions, averaging 23 yards per reception.
It started early, but there was no sign of the explosion that was coming. Stroud targeted Smith-Njigba on third down of the first OSU possession, but the pass was incomplete. On the second three-and-out, Smith-Njigba caught passes on first and second down, but gained just eight combined yards on those two receptions, and after an incomplete pass intended for Marvin Harrison, Jr., who was making his first collegiate start, the Buckeyes punted for the second time.
Smith-Njigba was not targeted the rest of the first quarter, meaning he posted 339 yards in just three quarters of football!
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Ohio State scored on the first of three touchdown receptions by Harrison without Smith-Njigba making his third catch, getting on the board and effectively entering the game for the first time. However, on the next OSU drive, Smith-Njigba’s heroics truly began.
The Buckeyes got a 39-yard kickoff return from Emeka Egbuka and took over on their 40-yard line trailing 21-7. Miyan Williams ran for 10 yards on the first play, lugging the ball to midfield. On the next play, Smith-Njigba blasted past his defender on the outside and caught a perfect strike from Stroud, holding off the cornerback en route to an explosive 50-yard touchdown.
Unfortunately, Covey returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, quickly canceling out the Smith-Njigba score. No matter, the Buckeyes were in the game now, and there would be plenty of fireworks. The defense played much better in the second half, and it certainly helped Ohio State’s cause that Rising was injured, and Bryson Barnes was far less effective in his place.
Following the Covey touchdown return, Ohio State started from its own 48-yard line thanks to a targeting penalty on Connor O’Toole. Stroud went right back to Smith-Njigba for a second consecutive explosive touchdown pass of 50 or more yards. This one went for 52, as Smith-Njigba caught the ball in the middle of the field, cut to his left to make a defender miss, followed a terrific block from Julian Fleming, and blazed into the end zone to make it 28-21.
The man who had eight receiving yards on two receptions now had 110 and two touchdowns on four catches, and Ohio State was mentally very much in the game.
However, nobody told that to the defense, because the Buckeyes gave up a 62-yard touchdown run to Rising on the next drive, as the Utes pushed the lead back to 14 with halftime approaching.
The ensuing drive is one Smith-Njigba would probably like to forget if the Buckeyes hadn’t gone on to win the game. It started well enough, as he picked up a first down with an 11-yard catch. He then made his third catch of 50 yards or more in the game, but this time he lost the football at the end. Clark Phillips jumped on it for Utah.
The defense bailed Smith-Njigba out, stopping the next drive after giving up 35 yards. That didn’t leave the offense much time, and despite another 15-yard reception from Smith-Njigba, the half ended with the Buckeyes down 35-21.
Ohio State got the ball first to start the second half, and Smith-Njigba torched the Utes for a 45-yard reception on the half’s opening drive. Stroud then threw a pick to Phillips in the end zone, which was far from optimal, but ultimately, it just helped build the endgame drama.
The defense got a stop and Utah punter Michael Williams fumbled the snap, giving Ohio State the ball at the Utes’ 11-yard line. Harrison scored a few plays later to pull the Buckeyes within a touchdown yet again.
The teams exchanged field goals on the ensuing two possessions, with Smith-Njigba adding two receptions and 27 more yards on Ohio State’s scoring drive. The Buckeyes trailed 38-31 entering the fourth quarter in a wild game. It didn’t slow down from there.
Ohio State opened the fourth quarter with a seven-play, 71-yard drive to pull level at 38. The second play of that drive was a 30-yard reception by Smith-Njigba to get things started. That play came on a similar crossing route to the one he’d scored his second touchdown on, but this time he didn’t get the sealing block he needed on the edge to spring him into the end zone. Harrison Jr. scored his third touchdown of the game to cap the drive.
The defense forced a Utah three-and-out after Harrison’s score, and Ohio State finally had the ball with a chance to take the lead. The Buckeyes didn’t squander the opportunity, with Smith-Njigba eventually doing the honors. Ryan Day lulled the Utes to sleep by using TreVeyon Henderson, Egbuka, and Jeremy Ruckert to move the ball inside the Utah 40-yard line.
Then Day mercilessly unleashed Smith-Njigba again. His first catch on the drive went for a mere nine yards, but it came on a critical fourth-and-4 play from Utah’s 39, with Smith-Njigba picking up the first down on a simple out route.
Being at the 30 was a good way for Smith-Njigba to give himself a nice, round number for his final touchdown of the game, because on the next play, he ran down the right sideline, and although he was well covered, he hauled in a beautiful pass from Stroud over his outside shoulder and somehow kept his feet in bounds for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:24 remaining. Ohio State led 45-38.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
After a short kickoff by Noah Ruggles and a decent return by Covey, Barnes led the Utes on a six-play, 57-yard touchdown drive. The Buckeyes had pushed the boulder uphill all game long and took the lead, only to see the defense give the Utes a tying score with 1:54 to play. Egbuka stepped up to give the Buckeyes good field position with a 33-yard kickoff return, and Ohio State took the first snap of the following possession with just 1:38 showing on the game clock.
The Utes had to know that Smith-Njigba was going to touch the football, but it didn’t matter. The Buckeyes opened the drive with an 8-yard bubble screen to him anyway. Day let Henderson cook for a few plays to once again get the Utes looking for the jab before throwing another cross.
From the Utah 23-yard line, Stroud found Smith-Njigba for the final 12 yards of his historic and heroic night, moving the ball to the Utah 11. A couple of plays later, Ruggles hit a short, game-winning field goal, and Ohio State left Pasadena with a memorable 48-45 victory in the Granddaddy of them All.
Smith-Njigba’s performance was one for the ages. Buckeye fans were deprived of such heroics the next season, as the star wide receiver’s final year in Columbus was derailed by injuries, but we’ll always remember the night he donned his Superman cape and helped Stroud carry Ohio State to a wild win over a scrappy Utah team.