If the 2019 Rose Bowl was the end of the Dwayne Haskins era at Ohio State, the redshirt sophomore quarterback went out in style.
Haskins threw three first-half touchdown passes, earning Offensive MVP honors in the Buckeyes’ 28-23 win.
He finished the season with a FBS-leading 50 touchdown passes, setting an Ohio State and Big Ten record in the process. He’s just the sixth quarterback in FBS history to reach 50 or more.
Haskins connected with Parris Campbell for a 12-yard touchdown to open the scoring, then hit Johnnie Dixon on a 19-yard pass to make it 14-3 in the second quarter.
His final touchdown pass changed the complexion of the game just before halftime.
With exactly 1:00 left in the second quarter, the Buckeyes took over at their own 43 following a Washington punt.
Haskins went to work, connecting with Binjimen Victor and Campbell to move the ball to the Washington 28.
Four plays later, he found a wide-open Rashod Berry in the flat for a 1-yard score that sent the Buckeyes to locker room with not only momentum, but also a three-score lead.
He finished the game with a stat line of 25-of-37 for 251 yards and those three scores.
It was an entirely pedestrian day by Haskins’ standards, but a pretty strong one when judged against almost any other Ohio State quarterback.
He set an OSU record with those three passing scores in a Rose Bowl, breaking the old mark of two by Rex Kern, Joe Germaine, and Terrelle Pryor.
If this is the end of his time at OSU, that may go down as his legacy: In addition to completely rewriting the school’s record books, Haskins has simply changed what success looks like at the position.
He finished the year 1,501 yards ahead of the old OSU record for passing yards in a season. He broke the single-season touchdown record by 15.
Haskins had just the second 400-yard passing performance in Ohio State history in the win over Indiana. And then he did it again the next week. And the week after that. And then against Maryland. And then he missed a 500-yard day against Northwestern by just four yards.
Haskins threw for 396 yards against Michigan and tied a school record by throwing six touchdowns against a defense that entered the game ranked as the nation’s best.
In Pasadena, after the sun had set and the confetti had finished falling, Haskins headed back to the locker room.
Buckeye fans lined the railing around the field chanting, “One more year! One more year!”
During the postgame interview, Haskins once again said that he hadn’t made up his mind about whether to turn pro, but the fans’ message clearly meant a lot to him.
“Buckeye Nation loves me, and I love Buckeye Nation since I was eight, nine, ten years old,” he said. “So to receive that ovation from them, to know how much they value me as a player and to know how much work I put into this to be in this spot, just to go to school here, just really blessed. Thankful to the guy to the right for recruiting me. And I really couldn’t ask for more.”
Ohio State fans probably feel the same way about him.