Will Howard: ‘We all just know’ national championship or bust for Ohio State

Following a 5-0 start where the Buckeyes have beat opponents by a nation-leading average of 39.2 points per game, Ohio State now faces their biggest game of the season thus far. Facing No. 3 ranked Oregon on the road in front of a hostile crowd at Autzen Stadium.

It was made known this offseason that Ohio State is going for it all this year, and Saturday’s matchup between two top-three-ranked opponents is one of the biggest stops in that journey. Highlighted by a national championship or bust mentality that Buckeyes’ quarterback Will Howard recently spoke about on The Triple Option.

“I don’t think that conversation happens a lot, but I think we all just know,” Howard said. “And I think being at a place like Ohio State, I know that we say it’s natty or bust this year, but I feel like it’s really like that every year. Like it’s one of those places where you got to win them all, and it’s the standard man, and expectations are so high and I knew that coming in.”

Howard joined Ohio State this offseason through the transfer portal along with several other premier players from around the country. Who combined with the Buckeyes’ returning players, many of whom could have gone to the NFL, have all come together with a focus one big common goal.

“I knew that was going to be the outlook on this season for us. And I knew that that’s why Lathan Ransom came back, I knew that’s why Jack Sawyer came back, Emeka [Egbuka], JT [Tuimoloau], Tre [TreVeyon Henderson], all those guys came back for this reason and we all kind of bonded together on that,” Howard explained. “Like hey, we’re not here to lose any football games, we’re here to win them all.”

Not many teams in the nation have a record in the last three seasons that compares to Ohio State. But with three straight losses to rival Michigan, missing out on the Big Ten title game three straight years, and zero College Football Playoff wins in that stretch, the sky high standards in Columbus have not been met.

“We know that last year it was 11-1 and it’s a failed season. The expectations here are a little bigger and it’s not something we really talk about. We’re taking it a week to week process, but in the back of our minds, we’ve drilled it in our heads,” Howard said. “Our goals are big and we want to beat the team up north, we want to win a Big Ten Championship, we want to win a natty, and that’s it. Anything else doesn’t really matter, that’s what we got in the back of our heads.”

A win versus the Ducks this Saturday would surely serve as a major step in the right direction for Ohio State’s championships aspirations. A marquee matchup kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET, airing on NBC, and streaming on Fubo.