'He came here to play in games like this': Will Howard looking forward to showdown at Oregon

The Game doubled as a top-three showdown each of the last two seasons. Michigan got the best of Ohio State both times, first handily in 2022 and then narrowly in 2023.

The Buckeyes now find themselves in another top-three showdown, not in Ann Arbor or in Columbus — but in Eugene, Oregon, where the No. 3 Ducks will host a No. 2 Ohio State team that’s relying on its graduate transfer quarterback to get the program over the hump.

Ohio State pursued former Kansas State standout Will Howard in the transfer portal for a reason. Howard, who put the NFL Draft on pause in favor a fifth and final college season, chose the Buckeyes for a reason.

“He came here to play in games like this,” Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said Tuesday.

Day noted that Howard has, in fact, played in games like this before. So did Howard himself, as he called back to his comeback bid at then-No. 7 Texas last season: Down 27-7 late in the third quarter at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Howard piloted his No. 23 Wildcats to 20 unanswered points in the span of about two and a half minutes of game time. Kansas State fell in overtime, however, that game taught Howard an important lesson.

“From my experience and playing in them, the biggest thing is staying neutral and not getting too high and getting too low,” Howard said. “I’ve learned you just can never say die. And you can never be up by too much, either. It goes both ways, and you have to understand that the situations really matter, and that one play can make the difference in a game, and every single play really matters.”

That was also the case in the 2022 Big 12 title game, which Howard and Kansas State won, knocking off eventual national runner-up TCU. The Wildcats put a stop to the cardiac Horned Frogs in the conference championship, shutting down running back Kendre Miller not once but twice from the 1-yard line to turn TCU over on downs and set the stage for a game-winning field goal.

Howard threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score in that 31-28 win.

Howard explained Tuesday that, in big games, striking the balance between wanting to make a game-changing play and also wanting to avoid doing too much is “huge.”

“You got to know when to take your medicine, if you will, and then just kind of take the check down and not force things,” Howard said. “There’s this balance between forcing and capitalizing, and you don’t want to force something and try and make something happen, but you got to take advantage and capitalize when those opportunities are there.

“And that’s the game that you got to play. You got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em, there’s no doubt, man.”

Ohio State will be headed to Autzen Stadium, where 54,000 fans in attendance pack noise into the Pacific Northwest air. That will certainly ring true Saturday evening during a game that has not only Big Ten title race implications but also College Football Playoff seeding ramifications.

Howard said there isn’t one way to go about navigating a hostile road environment. He said he tries to heighten his normal preparation, looking for ways to work even harder and maybe even add something extra to his plate.

“It’s a big game,” he said. “You want to say that you don’t want to treat any game more than another, but we know how big this one is, and we know it’s a big matchup, and we’re gonna have to be on our stuff. Going into the game just being poised, being confident, and you just want to stay neutral, stay level headed, and be as prepared as you possibly can going into the game.”

Ohio State and Oregon are both 5-0. They entered the season as the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the preseason AP Poll. They’re back to those spots after six weeks of college football, in particular after the craziness that ensured last week when five top-11 teams lost.

Howard has leaned into the pressure of being the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback ever since he arrived on campus in January.

He did so again, four days removed from the biggest regular season game of his career.

“When you come to a place like Ohio State, you want to play on the biggest stage,” said Howard, who has totaled 16 touchdowns (12 passing, four rushing) while completing a career-high 71.5% of his passes so far this season.

“You know, ‘College GameDay,’ all the hype, two versus three matchup — this is what you sign up for, and this is what I was looking forward to. It’s a challenge, man. It’s fun. This is what college football is all about. This is what you dream about as a kid, being on this stage, playing in front of a ton of people and a ton of people watching on TV. It’s a dream, man, and it’s definitely a big reason why I came here.”

Day added: “He’s been looking forward to this game, obviously we all have been. … There’s a reason you come to Ohio State, and there’s a reason he came — for games like this.”