COLUMBUS, Ohio — C.J. Stroud knew what was coming from the Michigan State defense Saturday afternoon.

The redshirt freshman quarterback expected a few different coverages — from Cover to Cover 1, without much man coverage and much more Cover 2 than he thought — and a bit of pressure. But a lot of the looks the Spartans gave were things Stroud could diagnose and maneuver just with a glance.

Leading by a touchdown early in the first quarter, Stroud saw an opportunity to take advantage of a defense that many other pass offenses had already taken advantage of.

Giving him a two-high safety look, Stroud saw one safety step up when he snapped the ball. With wide receiver Garrett Wilson in press-man coverage, all the quarterback had to do was look the safety away from the junior on the outside and take advantage of the one-on-one shot, finding Wilson in stride for the 77-yard touchdown.

To Stroud, this is textbook offensive play-calling.

“‘You beat your man, I’ll beat your hold players,’” Stroud says to his wide receivers, moving the opposing safeties with his eyes, faking his reads to get the matchup he wants downfield.

This was what Stroud did all night: picking the Spartans defense apart, consistently moving the ball downfield without pressuring the ball into too tight of a window. Stroud was patient in a clean pocket, waiting for the best play, making the game look simple.

“I think his anticipation is off the charts, I think he sees things very, very well,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “I think his touch is excellent. When he needs to put a little extra on it, he does. He’s accurate downfield.

“He doesn’t make guys work for the ball. He plays catch.”

While Day knows how special his wide receivers are, how each of his top-three guys — Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — can create separation and make a lot of plays by themselves, the head coach also knows that he has a quarterback that can make those situations happen for his receivers, something that’s incredibly special.

That’s what Stroud was until he was benched early in the third quarter, having done all he could do: special, nearly perfect.

The redshirt freshman quarterback was as accurate as he’s ever been, completing 32-of-35 passes for 432 yards and six touchdowns — tying the school record for most passing touchdowns in a game, along with the record for most passing touchdowns in a half with six.

He spread the ball around, sending 26 of his 35 pass attempts in the direction of either Olave, Wilson or Smith-Njigba for 371 yards and five of his six touchdowns.

Starting in Ohio State’s first offensive drive with a nine-yard completion to Wilson, Stroud recorded 17-straight completions — a school record — for 271 yards and four touchdowns.

“I feel like when we spread the ball around, that can happen at any time,” Olave said. “We’re all getting targets, the running back’s clicking, the passing game’s clicking, I feel that can happen at any time.”

Smith-Njigba said it’s something he felt that could happen back in the spring just by looking at the offensive personnel Stroud and the Ohio State quarterbacks would have at their disposal.

“I was like, ‘Hey’s dangerous, he’s dangerous, he’s dangerous,’” Smith-Njigba recalls. “We knew what we had, but we just had to go out there and do it.”

Against Michigan State, Ohio State did it, recording seven-straight touchdown drives and 500 yards of offense when it left for halftime, starting the game with 49 points on 48 plays.

It’s something Day knows is happening. He sees the capability of what Ohio State’s offense can do, the high ceiling that the Buckeye offense has.

It’s not something he will marvel at, feeling it would lead to lost focus and lost momentum.

However, Day realizes how special Stroud has been.

And while it doesn’t matter to the team as a whole, he said, he looks at what the redshirt freshman has been able to do and sees a player that has the chance to win the Heisman Trophy.

But that’s not what he’s telling Stroud.

Day wants Stroud to stay steady through the upswing, never getting too high or too low.

“The same people that thought maybe he shouldn’t have been playing are the same people that are telling him he should be the Heisman Trophy winner. You can’t listen to any of those people,” Day said. “He has to focus on having a great night tonight, getting home, getting rest, waking up in the morning and getting started on these guys, learn from what happened in this game and stay focused.”