When Will Howard was at his best in Pasadena, he was throwing dimes and dropping it in the bucket, as the kids would say.
In the first 19 minutes of the Rose Bowl Game, Howard had three touchdown passes of at least 42 yards. Seven of his first eight completions went for at least 12 yards, including five throws that went for at least 29 yards. While the fifth-year senior air-mailed two incompletions early on, likely due to some early-game jitters in the second round of the College Football Playoff, Howard completed 11 of 18 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. For comparison's sake, he threw for at least 269 yards in just four of Ohio State's first 13 games of the season.
While the Buckeyes' offense slowed down a bit in the second half with the game essentially in hand, Howard completed six of his final seven passes to ice the game for good. In all, he completed 17-of-26 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-21 win over Oregon. Although Howard's 65.4% completion rate was his fourth-lowest of the season, the quarterback played his best ball early on, giving OSU a 34-0 lead with three minutes left in the first half. He made some very impressive throws when called upon.
It's also worth noting that Howard's three 300-yard passing games this season have come against Oregon (326 on Oct. 12 and 319 on Wednesday) and Tennessee (311), which means two things: He loves throwing against the Ducks and Howard is playing his best football at just the right time.
To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's win over Oregon, we charted all 26 of his passing attempts in the game. (Note: The passing chart is categorized by how many yards the quarterback threw the ball in the air past the line of scrimmage on each attempt and whether the ball reached its target inside or outside the hashes, though the stats listed include yards gained after the catch on each completion.)
Howard finished with a 97.7 Total QBR, the second-best mark of the bowl season thus far, behind only his performance against the Volunteers (98.7), according to ESPN.
After Howard didn't have a pass attempt 20-plus yards downfield against Michigan, he had his best game of the season in that area of the field against Tennessee, at least at the time. Howard completed four of five passes downfield for a then-season-high 125 yards and two touchdowns against the Vols. He followed that up by completing all four of his deep passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon, his most yards on passes thrown 20-plus yards in any game this season.
After throwing only four touchdowns with the deep ball throughout the regular season, Howard has now thrown four in the CFP (two vs. Tennessee and two vs. Oregon).
His 61% completion rate on deep balls this season is by far the best among FBS quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes 20-plus yards downfield.
Howard struggled in the intermediate part of the field against the Ducks, which played a major role in his drop in completion percentage. He completed just 2-of-7 passes for 46 yards in that area of the field, his worst game of the season for those specific passes.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 25/41 (61%), 854 yards (29.8 per attempt), 8 TD, 2 INT | 15/46 (32.6%), 452 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 10-19 | 52/87 (59.7%), 995 yards (11.4 per attempt), 7 TD, 3 INT | 43/78 (55.1%), 789 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 0-9 | 128/171 (74.9%), 1,168 yards (6.8 per attempt), 14 TD, 4 INT | 117/159 (73.6%), 1,043 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT |
| Behind los | 63/70 (90%), 473 yards (6.8 per attempt), 3 TD | 43/46 (93.5%), 346 yards, 4 TD |
While Howard completed only 61% of his passes on play action against Oregon, his 17.8 yards per attempt on those passes was his most of the season. He also threw three touchdowns in that concept after throwing 14 touchdowns on play action in OSU's first 13 games of the season.
Howard's 78.9% completion rate on play-action passes is the third-best in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes in that concept. His 12 yards per attempt on play-action passes are the third-most in the country. Howard's 17 touchdowns on play-action passes are tied for the second-most in the country. He has now completed 116 play-action passes, the seventh-most in the FBS.
| Play Action | Non-Play Action | |
|---|---|---|
| vs. Oregon (rose bowl) | 6/9 (66.7%), 160 yards (17.8 per attempt), 3 TD | 11/17 (64.7%), 159 yards (9.4 per attempt) |
| 2024 season | 116/147 (78.9%), 1,763 yards (12.0 per attempt), 17 TD, 3 INT | 151/222 (68%), 1,720 yards (7.7 per attempt), 15 TD, 6 INT |
| 2023 season At Kansas state | 66/104 (63.5%), 1,041 yards (9.4 per attempt), 16 TD, 4 INT | 152/254 (59.8%), 1,654 yards (6.5 per attempt), 7 TD, 6 INT |
Ohio State’s offensive line kept the pocket clean for Howard for the most part Wednesday night, as he was pressured on only eight dropbacks. He completed four of seven passes for 74 yards and a touchdown while under pressure against Oregon.
Howard's 54.5% completion rate under pressure is the sixth-best in the country among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 50 of those passes.
Oregon only blitzed on four of Howard's dropbacks and the quarterback completed 2-of-4 passes for 11 yards when the Ducks brought extra pressure. Howard flourished when Oregon didn't bring extra pressure, completing 15-of-22 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns when the defense didn't blitz him.
| PRESSURE | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| KEPT CLEAN | 219/281 (77.9%), 2,814 yards (10.0 per attempt), 26 TD, 6 INT | 172/256 (67.2%), 2,075 yards, 15 TD, 6 INT |
| UNDER PRESSURE | 48/88 (54.5%), 669 yards (7.6 per attempt), 6 TD, 3 INT | 46/102 (45.1%), 555 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT |
| NOT BLITZED | 176/244 (72.1%), 2,295 yards (9.4 per attempt), 18 TD, 8 INT | 135/224 (60.3%), 1,565 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT |
| BLITZED | 91/125 (72.8%), 1,188 yards (9.5 per attempt), 14 TD, 1 INT | 83/134 (61.9%), 1,065 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT |
Below, we take a look at three of Howard's best throws in Ohio State's win over Oregon, all of which came in the first 13 minutes of the game.
29-yard Completion to Jeremiah Smith
Howard finds Smith between two (and almost three) Oregon defenders and Smith high-points the ball and makes an incredible catch. While the throw was high, it had to be to get over the cornerback yet dropped perfectly before the other defensive back could get there.
Jeremiah Smith's first two catches went for a combined 74 yards.
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) January 1, 2025
Showing his speed in the open field and his body control to make a contested catch. pic.twitter.com/KCctdI1Esq
42-yard Touchdown to Emeka Egbuka
You remember that beautiful 40-yard throw Howard had to Emeka Egbuka on the seam route against Tennesee? The two connected again against Oregon. While Egbuka made a spectacular one-handed catch, Howard's throw couldn't have been more perfect.
This Will Howard-Emeka Egbuka connection was pic.twitter.com/IBzAiUenJ1
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 1, 2025
32-yard Completion to Jeremiah Smith
Howard finds Smith in stride and throws it right over the cornerback for a first down.
Jeremiah Smith in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl: 4 catches, 118 yards, 1 TD
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) January 1, 2025
*checks notes for JSN's bowl record* pic.twitter.com/ULhtt7yvgY
Howard's 87.2 Total QBR is the country's second-best mark this season behind only Miami's Cam Ward (88.8). His 72.6 completion percentage is fifth in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes this season. Howard's 32 passing touchdowns are the fifth-most in the FBS while his 175.8 rating is the third-best mark in the country among players who have thrown at least 100 passes this season.
Howard's passing chart through 14 games in 2024-25:
