Will Howard's arm *and* legs were a weapon for Ohio State's offense Monday night in Atlanta.
While he attempted only 21 passes (his third-fewest of the season) in Ohio State's 34-23 win over Notre Dame to claim the CFP national championship, Howard made the most of them. The fifth-year senior completed 17 of those 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns on his way to being named the Offensive MVP of the title game.
With his efficient performance, Howard finished the season with a 73% completion rate, an Ohio State record. His 81% completion rate in the national championship game was the eighth time he completed 80% or more of his passes in Ohio State’s 16-game season, increasing his record for the most such games in program history.
When he wasn't throwing the ball, Howard used his legs more than he did in any of Ohio State’s previous 15 games, leaving it all on the field in the last game of his college career. Howard finished with 16 carries for 57 yards, both of which were season-highs.
He started the game by completing 13 consecutive passes, a CFP title game-record. He completed 14-of-15 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the first half while adding 26 rushing yards and running for four first downs in the game's first 30 minutes.
While Howard finished the game completing four of his final eight passes, including just three of six passes in the second half, his overall performance was more than enough to lead Ohio State to its first national championship in 10 years.
To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's win over Notre Dame, we charted all 21 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's 99.1 Total QBR in the final game of the season was the best of the year in the FBS, according to ESPN. In fact, Howard's three CFP performances against Notre Dame, Tennesee and Oregon were the top three games of the season for a quarterback in terms of Total QBR.
He took advantage of the short passing game against the Fighting Irish's stout pass defense, much like he did against Texas a game before, completing seven of nine passes thrown within nine yards of the line of scrimmage for 60 yards and a touchdown. Howard also completed all five of his throws behind the line of scrimmage for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Howard only threw seven passes beyond 10 yards downfield, but went 2-of-3 for 76 yards on throws beyond 20 yards.
He finishes the season with a 58.7% completion rate on passes thrown 20-plus yards, by far the best among FBS quarterbacks who threw at least 25 passes 20-plus yards downfield. His 19.9 yards per attempt on those throws was third in the FBS.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 27/46 (58.7%), 930 yards (20.2 per attempt), 8 TD, 2 INT | 15/46 (32.6%), 452 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 10-19 | 60/99 (60.6%), 1,109 yards (11.2 per attempt), 7 TD, 4 INT | 43/78 (55.1%), 789 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 0-9 | 148/195 (75.9%), 1,345 yards (6.9 per attempt), 15 TD, 4 INT | 117/159 (73.6%), 1,043 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT |
| Behind los | 74/83 (89.2%), 626 yards (7.5 per attempt), 5 TD | 43/46 (93.5%), 346 yards, 4 TD |
For the first time this season, Howard was perfect on passes following play action, completing all seven of his throws in that concept for 75 yards and a touchdown. He also completed 10-of-14 passes without play action for 156 yards and a touchdown. Whether it was with play action or without it, Howard shredded Notre Dame's elite pass defense, averaging close to 11 yards per attempt in both concepts.
| Play Action | Non-Play Action | |
|---|---|---|
| vs. notre dame (national championship) | 7/7 (100%), 75 yards (10.7 per attempt), 1 TD | 10/14 (71.4%), 156 yards (11.1 per attempt), 1 TD |
| 2024 season | 129/164 (78.7%), 1,878 yards (11.5 per attempt), 18 TD, 4 INT | 179/259 (69.1%), 2,125 yards (8.2 per attempt), 17 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 |
Even though the Fighting Irish blitzed on 10 of 25 dropbacks (40%), OSU's offensive line kept the pocket clean for the most part as Howard was under pressure only six times in the game. On those six dropbacks, Howard completed all three of his passes under pressure for 29 yards, the only time all season that he was perfect in that area of the game.
Howard's 57% completion rate under pressure finishes as the fourth-best in the country among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 50 of those passes.
He completed 14-of-18 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns on the 19 dropbacks he had a clean pocket.
| PRESSURE | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| KEPT CLEAN | 251/323 (77.7%), 3,175 yards (9.8 per attempt), 28 TD, 6 INT | 172/256 (67.2%), 2,075 yards, 15 TD, 6 INT |
| UNDER PRESSURE | 57/100 (57%), 828 yards (8.3 per attempt), 7 TD, 4 INT | 46/102 (45.1%), 555 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT |
| NOT BLITZED | 199/278 (71.6%), 2,489 yards (9.0 per attempt), 20 TD, 9 INT | 135/224 (60.3%), 1,565 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT |
| BLITZED | 109/145 (75.2%), 1,514 yards (10.4 per attempt), 15 TD, 1 INT | 83/134 (61.9%), 1,065 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT |
Below, we take a look at a good decision by Howard and four of his best throws against Notre Dame.
Good Decision: Will Howard takes off for an 11-yard run
Notre Dame had some great man coverage in this play but didn't use a QB spy and when Howard didn't find any open receivers, he took off for a first down on 3rd-and-5.
Notre Dame's man coverage held up here, but there was no one to spy Ohio State QB Will Howard.
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) January 21, 2025
Howard took the free yards and moved the sticks. pic.twitter.com/Ma9rDjHFON
Good Throw: 19-yard completion to Brandon Inniss
Even with pressure from an unblocked linebacker on a blitz, Howard finds Inniss for a first down on 3rd-and-7.
Also, Inniss broke that guy's ankles to get open.
Impressive delivery under pressure from Ohio State QB Will Howard. Gets enough zip on a pass to WR Brandon Inniss, who polishes off a gain of 19 yards on 3rd-and-7. pic.twitter.com/yaI0zWDLxY
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) January 21, 2025
Good Throw: 20-yard completion to Carnell Tate
Howard feels the pressure coming, steps up in the pocket and delivers a ball to Tate that only the wide receiver could get to for a first down on 3rd-and-7.
Good Throw: 6-yard touchdown pass to Quinshon Judkins
Howard uses his scrambling ability to draw four Notre Dame defenders only to find Judkins wide-open in the middle of the end zone for an easy touchdown. Even when the quarterback doesn't take off and run the ball, the threat of it changes so much for the offense.
Ohio State had 3 drives in the first half, and each of them ended in a touchdown:
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) January 21, 2025
11 plays, 75 yards, TD
10 plays, 76 yards, TD
12 plays, 80 yards, TD
Will Howard so far: 14-of-15, 144 yards, 2 TD pic.twitter.com/YHLfFMLOwi
Good Throw: 56-yard Dagger to Jeremiah Smith
Smith saved his best for last, as his lone second-half target and catch was on a 56-yard reception that essentially clinched the national championship for Ohio State. TreVeyon Henderson's awareness and ability as a pass-blocker gave Howard the time to throw the ball.
After it seemed like Ohio State was just going to be conservative, waste some time and punt the ball back to Notre Dame, Howard found the star freshman wide receiver in one-on-one coverage and knew exactly where he was going to throw the ball to convert 3rd-and-11 and win the game for the Buckeyes.
WILL HOWARD DELIVERS
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) January 21, 2025
HOWARD TO JEREMIAH SMITH FOR 56 YARDS ON THIRD DOWN AND OHIO STATE CAN TASTE THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!
Watch the #CFB Championship LIVE on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/LliM7jc7hY
"It's when you tee up the driver and it feels real nice, 300 down the middle," Howard said after the game. "We knew they were going to potentially play us in man ... all I had to do is give 4 a chance and let 4 be 4."
The quarterback reiterated those same remarks while talking to the media at Raising Cane's on Wednesday.
"Yes, no question about it. That ball was going to No. 4, man," Howard said. "I look out there, I see one-on-one, he's off inside leverage. JJ attacked his leverage, really stacked him. That play's going to be talked about for a long time here in Ohio State history. That's just credit to Jeremiah, man. That guy's an alien.
"He's unreal," he continued. "I knew that going into that play, they were probably expecting us to run the ball, try and take some seconds off the clock. We could have been conservative and ran the ball and given them the ball back with a little bit over two minutes left in the game, but I love the play call from Coach Day and Coach Kelly. We worked that all week and said, on some 3rd-and-extra long stuff, if they were going to give us that opportunity, they could be beat on some go-balls. And when it comes to go-balls, there ain't nobody better than No. 4. Just let him go out there and do his thing, put some air on it, and let him go catch it."
Howard's 89.6 Total QBR for the 2024 season finishes as the best in the country. His 73% completion percentage was the third-best in the FBS among quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes this season. Howard's 175.3 passer rating was the fourth-best mark in the country among players who threw at least 100 passes this season.
Howard's passing chart for the season:
