The 2021 season is complete.

With Ohio State finishing as Rose Bowl champions and now already looking ahead to spring ball and even the 2022 season opener against Notre Dame Sept. 3, here's a look back at what went well and what didn't go well during the 2021 season.

Let's start with the offense.

The offense was C.J. Stroud's in 2021.

He was leaps and bounds the best quarterback in the Big Ten this past season. leading all quarterbacks in the conference in touchdowns (44), completion percentage (71.9), passing yards (4,435), passing yards per game (369.6) and passer efficiency (186.6).

With those numbers, he easily took home the Big Ten Quarterback, Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year awards.

It was one of the best statistical seasons an Ohio State quarterback has ever had, finishing with the second-most passing yards of a Buckeye quarterback in a single season, the second-most passing touchdowns of a Buckeye quarterback in a single-season, and the best season in Ohio State history in completion percentage, passing yards per game and passing efficiency, along with single-game records in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

But more importantly, it was about the growth of the redshirt freshman throughout the 2021 season.

While he started as a pretty accurate passer, Stroud had a tendency to force throws, throwing three interceptions in his first three games of the season.

After sitting out the Akron game to rest his injured throwing shoulder, the redshirt freshman only had three games the rest of the way in which he completed less than 70% of his passes, including three games in which he completed 80% or higher. He also threw three interceptions in his final nine games compared to 36 touchdowns, including two six-touchdown performances against Michigan State and Utah in the Rose Bowl, matching Ohio State's record for the most in a single game.

At points, the offense was a tad one-dimensional with Stroud at the helm, especially with his inability to tuck and run the ball — with his longest rush being for 15 yards against Oregon.

But he had the weapons to lead the No. 1 scoring offense and the No. 1 total offense in the country.

He was doing something right.

Grade: A

Thee was points in the 2021 season where TreVeyon Henderson was one of the most exciting running backs in the country.

He was carrying the ball longer than anyone else in the country, keeping a firm grasp on possessions while consistently finding the end zone, recording an eight-game scoring streak to begin his college career in which he scored 15 of his 19 touchdowns this season.

In his five final games of the 2021 season, Henderson wasn't as explosive, dropping his per carry average by 2.6 yards to a respectable 5.3 yards per touch, scoring only four touchdowns.

While Miyan Williams and Master Teague III each had their moments against Purdue and Michigan State, respectively, their only high points of seasons filled with injuries, the run game overall seemed to take a sharp decline, leading to 64 yards and a touchdown on 30 rushes in Ohio State's first loss to Michigan since 2011.

As the season continued, Henderson's role began to expand into the passing game too, recording four games in 2021 in which he recorded four receptions or more, including nine receptions in his final two games against the Wolverines and Utah.

The talent was there, and will continue to be heading into 2022. However, with an offensive mindset geared toward balance, there was a distinct lack of balance in the offense, especially toward the back third of the 2021 season.

Grade: B

With Stroud throwing the football, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson were close to unstoppable in 2021.

The trio deemed "Earth, Wind and Fire" recorded 230 of Ohio State's 349 receptions (65.9%), 3,600 of Ohio State's 4,952 receiving yards (72.7%) and 34 of Ohio State 46 touchdown receptions (73.9%).

There was really no other receiver on the roster close to the production of Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba, seeing a drop in receiving yards per game by more than 50 yards between Olave and any other receiver on the roster.

However, what Smith-Njigba showed in the Rose Bowl was that that level of production can continue even without Olave or Wilson sharing receptions with him.

In the final game of his sophomore season, Smith-Njigba brought in 15 catches for 347 yards — both Ohio State single-game records — along with three touchdowns. Freshman Marvin Harrison Jr. matched with three touchdowns of his own against Utah.

What Ohio State showed in 2021 is that this offense can have multiple No. 1 receivers, setting a precedent for next season and beyond.

Grade: A+

Jeremy Ruckert put together his most productive season at tight end. But what it showed was how unimportant — especially in a pass-first offense like Ohio State's — the tight end position was in the passing game.

The fourth-year senior brought in 26 receptions in 2021, doubling his total from 2020, while recording 309 receiving yards: more than his three previous years with the Buckeyes combined. This was helped by six games this season in which Ruckert recorded three receptions or more, and three games in which he had at least 40 receiving yards.

However, his status as a scoring threat was really snuffed out in 2021.

After recording nine touchdowns in 2019 and 2020 combined, Ruckert recorded only three in 2021: two against Indiana and one against Rutgers.

Gee Scott Jr., Mitch Rossi and Cade Stover combined for 14 catches for 146 receiving yards and a touchdown: a one-yard touchdown grab by Rossi on his first career reception.

Ruckert, Rossi — out of the full back position — and company did play a key role in run blocking for the Buckeyes, helping the run game average 5.5 yards per rush: one of two teams in the conference to average over five yards per touch.

But for a position that seemingly has the same conversation in terms of production each season, the tight ends seemed to continue to fall off, especially comparatively to the rest of the passing game.

Clouded by one of the best receiving rooms in the country, the tight ends did what they were told, but it just didn't show up enough to make a legitimate impact offensively.

Grade: C+

Ohio State's goal in 2021 was to get the best five offensive linemen on the field at the same time. For the Buckeyes, that meant getting four tackles on the line together.

Thayer Munford and Paris Johnson Jr. — both offensive tackles — started at guard for Ohio State in 2021, something Johnson did for the majority of 2020, but was a new move entirely for Munford: a position he had never played a snap at in college.

Munford and Johnson, along with Dawand Jones and Nicholas Petit-Frere at tackle and Luke Wypler at center, adding Matthew Jones as the sixth-man, who played both guard spots and center, Ohio State recorded the fifth-best run game in the Big Ten, averaging 180.3 yards per game with 24 touchdowns, but led the way with 5.5 yards per carry.

Ohio State's offensive line kept Stroud's pocket relatively clean too, allowing the second-least amount of sacks in the conference, tied with Wisconsin with 17 sacks allowed. Stroud also had the highest completion percentage in the Big Ten at 71.9: the highest in school history.

Despite a dreadful performance against Michigan, Ohio State's offensive line did its job for the most part, even though it was far from traditional.

Grade: B+

Ohio State really had one of the best offenses in the country in 2021. Even through the struggles in the run game and being forced to push the ball downfield, even if it did seem one-dimensional at points, opposing defenses really had trouble stopping Ohio State's offense, leading the country in points per game (45.7) and yards per game (561.5). The high expectations will continue into 2022 with Stroud, Henderson and Smith-Njigba each returning, along with Wypler, Johnson and Matthew Jones on the offensive line.

Grade: A