Ryan Day would be a pretty solid gambler. The Ohio State coach is definitely not into tipping his hand.

When asked after the Buckeyes’ 66-17 win over Maryland on Saturday how OSU QB CJ Stroud stacked up with Buckeye quarterbacks of the past couple seasons, Day was kind of noncommittal.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to get to the film,” he said. A few moments before, Day admitted that Stroud is “executing at a fairly high level right now.”

The rest of us might not need to watch the film. CJ Stroud is playing well. Really, really well. Historically well.

Ohio State has reached the halfway point of its regular season. Even after missing a game, Stroud has 1,700 passing yards and 18 touchdowns against 3 interceptions. Granted, their past 3 foes — Maryland, Rutgers and Tulsa — won’t end up in the CFP, or even the top 25. But across competition from meh to strong, Stroud has been astonishingly sharp for the Buckeyes.

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His name is already dotted across the OSU football record book. In its long and glorious history, OSU has seen 8 400+ yard passing games. Stroud has 2 of the 8. OSU has just 5 instances of 3,000 passing yards in a season. Stroud is on pace to easily eclipse that mark even before postseason play.

In fact, he’s like to be only the second OSU QB to reach 3,500 yards in a season. His 18 touchdowns is only 6 shy of the school’s top 10 for single-season passing touchdowns. Again, Stroud is likely to be in the top handful of OSU performers on that list.

As astounding as Stroud has been, he has been even better in conference play. In 3 Big Ten games, Stroud has gone 54 for 78 for 1,030 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

Of course, Stroud will be assessed frequently on the basis of how he plays against top foes. In OSU’s only game so far against a ranked team, the Buckeyes lost to Oregon. But it wasn’t exactly Stroud’s fault — he had 484 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in that game.

It’s worth pondering whether Stroud has a legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy. Of course, there are a few side considerations. Only Johnny Manziel has ever won the award as a freshman, which means that it is possible but also that it is unlikely. Of course, team success will matter. A 9-3 or even a 10-2 Ohio State team probably leaves Stroud outside the conversation. But…

There’s no real lock-solid Heisman favorite this season. Mississippi’s Matt Corral might be the most popular candidate, but his candidacy will have its own issues. Ole Miss already has an SEC West division loss to Alabama, and Corral didn’t exactly light up the Tide. Alabama’s Bryce Young will likely have the team success, but Alabama’s team is so laden with stars that his teammates (running back Brian Robinson, for one) could split his support.

Ohio State is increasingly growing into its identity, and the growth of Stroud from hopeful to question mark to intriguing component to possible Heisman candidate has been a huge chunk of the narrative.

And yes, how the freshman plays against Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan inthe second half of the season will have some say in his ultimate assessment. But for now, even without reviewing the game film, Stroud has been outstanding.

How outstanding? Maybe historically so.