Ohio State Buckeyes Rally Back to beat Utah Utes 48-45 in a Rose Bowl Classic

Ohio State Buckeyes #7 C.J. Stroud threw six touchdowns against the Utah Utes' defense in the Rose Bowl. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.

PASADENA, CA - No.6 rank Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) took on the #11 rank Utah Utes (10-3) in Pasadena at the 108th Rose Bowl Game, won in a wild and crazy thriller 48-45.

Ohio State quarterback C.J.Stroud completed 37 passes for 573-yards (school record), six touchdowns, and one interception, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba set an FBS bowl record with 15 catches (school record) for 347-yards and three touchdowns, and Marvin Harrison Jr. six catches for 71-yards and three touchdowns.

"It's emotional for me," said Stroud. "It's like I'm dreaming right now. I was able to come home and win the Rose Bowl like this. ... This is the Rose Bowl, man. This is where the legendary games are being played."

Utah took the first lead of the game 7-0 in the first quarter after Cameron Rising threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Britain Covey and the extra-point conversion by Jaden Redding.

Ohi State was down by fourteen points, 14-0, after Rising threw his second touchdown pass to Michal Bernard for 12-yards.

The Buckeyes trail the Utes 14-7 in the second quarter after C.J. Stroud threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. with 14:17 left before halftime.

Utah Utes #7 Cameron Rising (QB) 62-yard touchdown run against Ohio State's defense in the Rose Bowl. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.

Utah increased their lead to 21-7 on a 6-yard touchdown run by Tavion Thomas. Ohio State scored again after Stroud threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, trailing 21-14.

The Utes increased their lead to 28-14 after a 97-yard kick-off return by Britain Covey. On their next series, Stroud threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba that had Ohio State down 28-21.

Utah led 35-21 after Rising ran for a 62-yard touchdown run with 6:24 left before halftime. The first half ended with Utah leading Ohio State 35-21.

The Buckeyes got the football first in the third quarter, and in scoring position, Stroud threw a pass intercepted in the endzone by Clark Phillips III from Utah.

Utah Utes #8 Clark Phillips III (CB) intercepts Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud's pass in the end zone in the Rose Bowl. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.

Michael Williams from Utah would fumble the football, and Ohio State Bryon Shaw recovered the ball, giving the Buckeyes good field position.

Ohio State kept fighting and would score with an 8-yard touchdown catch by Harrison Jr., making the score 35-28. Ohio State kept Utah out of the endzone, had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Redding, and the Utes now led 38-28.

"Our team is built on fighting," Smith-Njigba said. "It doesn't matter if we're up, or down. We were down the first half, but we just had to stay level-headed and keep fighting."

Ohio State trailed Utah by seven points 38-31 after a 31-yard field by Noah Ruggles with 2:53 left in the third quarter.

Ohio State Buckeyes #11 Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR) caught three touchdowns against the Utah Utes' defense in the Rose Bowl. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.

Ohio State tied the game 38-38 in the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown catch by Harrison Jr. with 10:12 left in the game.

The Buckeyes got their first lead of the game 45-38 when Stroud threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Njigba with 4:22 left in the game.

The Utes were looking to tie the game when Rising got hurt after being sacked with 9:56 left in the game, and Bryson Barnes came in and took his team down to the Buckeyes’ 15-yard line and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid to tie the game 45-45 with 1:54 left in the game.

Unfortunately, for Utah, they left too much time on the clock for Ohio State, as Stroud drove his team 56-yards on seven plays, and with 9 seconds left in the game, Ruggles kicked the game-winning 19-yard field goal to give the Buckeyes a 48-45 win in the Rose Bowl Championship.

"At some point, we have to play defense," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We didn't play very well all night long on defense. It wasn't our usual. Not sure we'd be able to get a stop."

Rising completed 17 of his 22 passes for 214-yards, and two touchdowns and was the leading rusher for Utah with 11 carries for 92-yards and one touchdown, followed by Tavion Thomas with 18 carries for 67-yards and one touchdown.