Stroud taking loss hard: ‘People probably hate me’
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – C.J. Stroud felt ill all week. That didn’t compare to the sick feeling the Ohio State quarterback had during and after the Buckeyes’ 42-27 loss to Michigan on Saturday.
Stroud did not play poorly. It wasn’t his fault the Buckeyes’ offensive and defensive lines got manhandled. Stroud didn’t throw any interceptions or lose any fumbles.
His stat line — 34 of 49 for 394 yards and two touchdowns — was plenty good enough for Ohio State to win. But there was no solace in that.
“I put my heart and soul into this game,” Stroud
said. “We all do for 365 days. To come up short, it’s not a good feeling.”
Stroud said he began to feel sick early in the week and was losing his voice.
“I don’t know what type of sickness I have, but I’ve been sick all week,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to get right, get my voice back. There’s not really too much to explain. Sometimes, you have to play sick.”
Stroud’s inability to raise his voice to be heard over the loud Michigan Stadium crowd might have contributed to several false starts by Ohio State’s offensive linemen. Right tackle Dawand Jones had three.
“I can’t blame it on my line,” Stroud said. “I blame it on me for getting sick. I tried my hardest to be as loud as I possibly could, but when you get yourself out of whack like that, it’s hard to bounce back.”
Ohio State knew coming into the game it would have to neutralize Michigan’s standout defensive ends, especially Aidan Hutchinson. The Buckeyes couldn’t. Jones and left tackle Nicholas Petit-frere struggled to contain Hutchinson, who had three sacks and was continually disruptive.
“Their defensive ends did a good job of pushing upfield and getting good pressure,” Stroud said. “I tried my best to step up into the pocket and help my tackles out and get the ball out on time. But some things just don’t work out. But I’m still proud of my line for battling for four quarters.”
Another likely casualty was Stroud’s Heisman Trophy candidacy. He was the front-runner, but the loss probably dooms his chances.
“It’s the worst feeling you could possibly have,” he said. “I know people probably hate me for (OSU losing), but I think they know, deep down in my heart, I’ve put my heart and soul and put my body on the line and put everything that I possibly could to win this game. Just know that I love this team, I love Ohio State, I love Buckeye Nation.”