Tim May: Will Howard shines for Buckeyes in blowout over Tennessee

COLUMBUS — There was quite a bit of jing-a-ling to Ohio State’s 42-17 beatdown of Tennessee on Saturday night in Ohio Stadium because quarterback Will Howard, he was dropping dimes.  More to the point, in leading the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff first round win during the frigid, frenzied evening, Howard was "dropping dimes down a Coke bottle" as the saying goes. His 37-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith, the flip down the middle seam to Emeka Egbuka that setup the second touchdown, and his 22-yard pass again to Smith boosted the Buckeyes to a 28-10 lead in the third quarter as the scent of a Rose Bowl rematch with No. 1 Oregon in a CFP quarterfinal Jan.1 wafted through the ‘Shoe. In arguably the most important game of his five-year college career, the first four spent at Kansas State before he became one of the celebrated transfer acquisitions by Ohio State this time a year ago, Howard was on point. He caught the rhythm from the start and rode it, dropping dimes along the way.