It was a record-breaking day for Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and quarterback C.J. Stroud in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One Venture X in Pasadena, California.
Smith-Njigba set several records after finishing with 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s 48-45 victory over Utah, including the Rose Bowl records for receiving yards and receptions while tying the Rose Bowl record for receiving touchdowns. He also set the Ohio State single-game receiving-yards record and the Ohio State receiving-yards record for a season.
Stroud broke the Rose Bowl record for passing yards and touchdowns after going 37-of-46 for 573 yards with six touchdowns and one interception.
Smith-Njigba smashed Terry Glenn’s school record of 253 yards, set against Pitt in 1995. He also easily surpassed Keyshawn Johnson’s previous Rose Bowl record of 216 yards. If that wasn’t enough, the sophomore’s spectacular performance put him at 1,606 receiving yards for the season, breaking David Boston’s previous single-season school record of 1,435 yards in 1998.
With his performance on Saturday, Smith-Njigba became the only Ohio State receiver to ever have multiple 200-yard receiving games, as he put up 240 yards this season against Nebraska.
Stroud’s 573 passing yards are third-most ever in a bowl game and also the second-most in any game in Big Ten history. Dave Wilson had 621 for Illinois in 1980 against Ohio State.
