Thayer Munford couldn’t opt out of the Rose Bowl. Not after what happened against Michigan.
Had Munford chosen not to play against Utah, his five-year Ohio State career would have ended with a 42-27 loss against the Buckeyes’ hated rivals. For Munford specifically, the lasting image from that game was a particularly ugly one: Aidan Hutchinson toppling Munford over with a bull rush that’s been viewed nearly one million times on Twitter.
Time to study the tape of the Hutchinson/Ojabo show pic.twitter.com/JYgC41ryaO
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 28, 2021
Munford didn’t want to go out like that.