The 2022 college football season can't come soon enough for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who must be so pumped up to see action on the field, especially after hearing the news that they have three players, namely C.J. Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, on the Maxwell Awards preseason watch list, as pointed out by Buckeyes football beat writer Dan Hope.
Ohio State is the only school with three players (C.J. Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba) on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award. https://t.co/Kxz4vxWT83
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) July 18, 2022
Redshirt sophomore quarterback CJ Stroud is expected to lead the charge for the Buckeyes, who will be looking to better their achievements in the last season. Back in the 2021 college football season, the Buckeyes failed to make it to the College Football Playoff in part because the Michigan Wolverines tripped them up for Ohio State's only loss. The Buckeyes still managed to get into the Rose Bowl where they took down the Utah Utes in a game where Stroud went off for 573 passing yards. Stroud finished the campaign with 4,435 passing yards and 44 touchdowns against just six interceptions, while completing over 71 percent of his pass attempts.
That loss to the Wolverines was Ohio State's first in nine games in the head-to-head history of the two rivaling Big Ten football programs, so the Buckeyes must have an extra-thick circle drawn around the date of their next meeting with Michigan.
Article Continues BelowWith running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba completing the three-headed monster of the Buckeyes' offense along with Stroud, Ohio State is among the heavy favorites to win the national title in the coming season. Over at FanDuel sportsbook, the Buckeyes are +300 to win it all — the second-shortest price among all teams on the field. Only the perenially great Alabama Crimson Tide have shorter odds than Ohio State, which was also the highest-scoring team in the nation in 2021 with 45.7 points per game. Moreover, the Buckeyes were no. 1 nationally in total offense (561.5 total yards per game).