A record-setting performance is the ideal precursor to a homecoming of sorts. C.J. Stroud will enjoy the fruits of such a sequence this Sunday in Cincinnati.
The home of the Bengals isn't exactly next door to Columbus, Ohio, the site of Stroud's Ohio State University, but it's close enough. And in Ohio, there are only two types of football fans -- those who support Ohio State, and those who do not -- meaning he can count on plenty of Buckeyes fans showing up for his team's trip to Paycor Stadium.
They just might not be there to support his Houston Texans. That's fine in Stroud's eyes; He's just there to do what he did plenty of in scarlet and gray: Win games in the Buckeye State.
"Yeah, man. I'm excited," Stroud said Wednesday, via the team's transcript. "I know it'll be a couple Ohio State fans there, maybe. But they'll probably be booing me that day, so it is what it is, and I'm excited to go back to Ohio and play. I wish it was a little colder. [laughs] Nah, I'm happy it's not cold. But yeah, for sure, I'm excited."
Sunday makes for an interesting matchup. Joe Burrow reigns in Cincinnati as the chosen savior of the Bengals, delivering an AFC title in 2021 and an AFC North title in 2022, and he's an Ohio product, growing up less than 150 miles from Cincinnati in the much smaller area of Athens, Ohio. He's also a former Buckeye, even if the folks down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, bristle at this notion.
Effectively, this is a showdown of two former Buckeyes, even if Burrow transferred to LSU in order to receive a chance to start at quarterback for the Tigers. Stroud isn't from the state, though: The Southern California kid just so happened to rise late in his recruiting process (via his Elite 11 showing) and ended up following
Read on nfl.com