Will Howard stamps place in Ohio State football history with CFP title: Instant opinions
ATLANTA – Ohio State crushed it early and held on against Notre Dame Monday in the College Football Playoff national championship game and in doing so pulverized any notion it was a close-but-no-cigar program that was a bit too soft, a tad too nice and a little too overmatched in the head coaching department.
Will Howard directed the offense like a maestro, the running game strong-armed the Fighting Irish for 216 yards − 70 coming on a Quinshon Judkins run − and the defense put Notre Dame in a vice grip after allowing an opening touchdown until things got dicey in the fourth quarter, when "Leave No Doubt" turned into "OSU fans are starting to look nauseated."
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But, finally, Buckeye Nation was able to exhale after Jayden Fielding's 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. And the kick came in the same building where Noah Ruggles' missed field goal ended OSU's title hopes in 2022. The final: 34-23.
Will Howard cements Ohio State legacy as winner, leader
For all the talk over the past 15 years of Ohio State being in contention for the title of Quarterback U, none of the QBs who contributed to that tagline won a national championship.
Troy Smith came close. Terrelle Pryor was a physical specimen. Braxton Miller’s running ability was unmatched. Dwayne Haskins could sling it. Justin Fields was good at everything. C.J. Stroud’s arm was as pinpoint as it gets.
None hoisted the ultimate trophy. The last one who did, Cardale Jones, was a three-game wonder who caught defenses off-guard with his size and arm strength. But he was more shooting star than season-long star.
Will Howard leaves Ohio State doing what no one but Jones has accomplished since Craig Krenzel in 2002. Monday night, the fifth-year senior cemented his legacy as the ultimate winner and A+ leader.
From the opening snap against Notre Dame, Howard was better than he has ever been, completing his first 13 passes and running for crucial first downs as he directed Ohio State’s win for the Buckeyes’ seventh national title.
Howard finished 17-of-21 passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He completed passes to six different receivers and, most importantly, avoided the costly early turnover that could have kept the Fighting Irish in the game. Oh, and he rushed for 57 yards.
Imagine if Howard had been with the Buckeyes for more than one season? He might go down as the most revered QB in history. Instead, he goes down as one of the most improved QBs to wear scarlet and gray.
Howard arrived at Ohio State last January as a decent if unspectacular transfer from Kansas State whose main responsibility was to “make the routine plays routinely.” Through the first half of the season he mostly succeeded, but if you will allow me to nitpick for just a moment, he struggled with deep throws and seldom went to his second read, instead locking onto his first target.
But wow how he improved, especially during the playoff, culminating with Monday’s performance.
It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Howard is as engaging, thoughtful and passionate as they come.
Notre Dame’s early offense belonged in a 1934 time capsule
After flexing some muscle on its opening drive by going 75 yards in 18 plays for a touchdown, eating 9:45 off the clock in the process, the Fighting Irish turned to flab before getting back in shape the four quarter. Someone needs to tell Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman that basing your first-half offense on quarterback Riley Leonard running the draw is no way to win championships.
The forward pass was modernized by Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne in 1913. A century later it looked like the Irish during the first half had not refined it much further. Leonard improved in the second half, finishing with 255 yards after Notre Dame began throwing it around, because it had to, but by then it was too little, too late.
Irish fans are left wondering what would have happened had the offense opened things up earlier.
Chip Kelly dials up nasty game plan
Ryan Day gave up play-calling and brought in his friend to run the offense this season, and at no time was Kelly more of a mastermind than against Notre Dame, when he dipped into his bag of creativity and designed a plan that left the Irish trying to tackle air.
The Buckeyes’ first series set the tone for what Kelly had in store the rest of the way. Perfectly mixing the run and pass, Kelly called an effective counter for TreVeyon Henderson that gained 19 yards, went with an empty backfield before getting the ball to Quinshon Judkins on a 15-yard screen, showed Notre Dame a four-receiver set and ran a fake reverse to Jeremiah Smith that resulted in a walk-in touchdown when Howard found Smith in the flat.
And how about this for sneaky? Except for being run to the other side of the field, the play to Smith was nearly identical to the play Alabama scored on against OSU in the 2021 CFP championship game. Way to exorcise that demon.
As gutsy - or smart? - as it gets on deep pass to Jeremiah Smith
Wow. Just wow. Facing third-and-11 at its own 35-yard line and clinging to a 31-23 lead with 2:45 remaiing, Kelly or Ryan Day or somebody dialed up a deep ball to Smith that covered 56 yards and put OSU at Notre Dame's 10. Talk about gutsy. Or maybe just really smart. An incompletion brings a punt, an interception is like a punt and the third option is a completed pass. The coaching staff, or Howard − why not both? − deserve a medal for their mettle.
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This story was updated to add a video.