Rece Davis expresses concern in Will Howard after Ohio State's win over Penn State

Ohio State was able to pull out a gritty signature win on Saturday when they traveled to Penn State and defeated the No. 3 ranked Nittany Lions 20-13. But in that game, college football personality Rece Davis was not impressed by the play from Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard.

Howard joined a loaded Ohio State team this offseason that was forward about their goals of winning a national championship. But Davis questions if he can be the force to propel the Buckeyes to those championship heights despite the overall talent of the team.

“Will Howard is a very good college quarterback, he’s a good college quarterback,” Davis repeated on the College GameDay Podcast. “But he made two huge mistakes, near catastrophic mistakes, with a couple of more executed plays on the goal line from Penn State could have cost them the game. The pick six, which it happens, I get it. But then also the fumble on the goal line and that happened right in front of me, and it was pretty obvious immediately it was touchback.”

Howard’s first pass attempt of the game was intercepted and returned for a touchdown to give Penn State a 10-0 lead. And after responding with back-to-back touchdown passes in the next two drives, Howard turned a potential touchdown into a turnover after fumbling the ball through the end zone on a rush attempt.

“There are a lot of good things about Ohio State, maybe they’ll end up winning the national championship. I like Will Howard as as a young man and I think he’s a good quarterback. But if it comes down to who’s going to make a play, Will Howard or Cam Ward?” Davis asked. “Will Howard or Dillon Gabriel? Will Howard or even Quinn Ewers who’s struggled. I’m not sure I take him over any of those guys to make that play.”

It’s no secret that other quarterbacks have outshined Howard this season, also leading some of the nation’s top teams with a chance to compete for a national championship in the College Football Playoff like the Buckeyes. But when it matters most, it will definitely be fascinating to see if Howard can help take his teammates to the next level or vice versa.

“Now, maybe they’re so talented he won’t have to. Maybe he’ll just execute what Chip Kelly calls he’ll be able to get the ball often enough to Jeremiah Smith, and to (Emeka) Ebuka and those two backs with (TreVeyon) Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Who was sensational Saturday, I thought, against a really good Penn State defense,” Davis added. “Maybe he won’t have to do those types of things.”

“But if it comes down to that, there are several guys that I would probably give an edge to in that category.”

Following Ohio State’s one-point loss to Oregon, the Buckeyes have found a way to win two straight one-score games. A skill that will definitely come in handy during the postseason and will largely hinge on the play of Howard down the stretch.