Will Howard continued to be an efficient passer against Iowa while playing his best football of the season to date, stacking on his performances from the first four games of the season.
Much like he had done in the previous three games, Howard started the game against Iowa red hot, at least in terms of efficiency. Completing each of his first 10 passes against the Hawkeyes, the fifth-year senior couldn't have asked for a better start, just like he had done in every game early on as a Buckeye besides the season opener against Akron.
After throwing four straight incompletions to begin his Ohio State debut against Akron, Will Howard has been on fire to start each of the four games since the season opener:
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) October 5, 2024
vs. Western Michigan: 10/10
vs. Marshall: 11/12
at Michigan State: 12/13
vs. Iowa: 10/10
Although four of his next seven throws were incompletions, Howard completed all eight of his passes in the second half, with three of his final six throws going for touchdowns. He finished the game the same way he started it: Perfect.
In all, Howard completed 21-of-25 passes for 209 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, a performance that earned him a spot as one of the Davey O’Brien Award’s “Great 8” quarterbacks for Week 6. He not only had more total touchdowns (five) than incompletions (four) against Iowa, but his 84% completion rate was the second-best of his career as a starter, surpassing the 80% he completed against Marshall in the third game of the season.
To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's win over Iowa, we charted all 28 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.)
Much like he has done so far this season, Howard rarely threw the ball deep downfield against Iowa while continuing to get the ball to his playmakers as fast as possible to allow them to make a play with the ball in their hands. While he completed one deep ball to Jeremiah Smith for a 53-yard gain, Howard mostly took advantage of the short and intermediate passing game against Iowa.
The quarterback not only completed all 13 of his passes thrown within nine yards of the line of scrimmage, but he took advantage of the left side of the field in that area in particular. Howard completed all seven of his passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns on the left side of the hashes within nine yards of the line of scrimmage against the Hawkeyes, an area of the field where he threw only 12 passes in the previous four games combined.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 5/11 (45.5%), 196 yards, 1 INT | 15/46 (32.6%), 452 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs |
| 10-19 | 21/32 (65.6%), 391 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT | 43/78 (55.1%), 789 yards, 6 TDs, 4 INTs |
| 0-9 | 40/56 (71.4%), 448 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT | 117/159 (73.6%), 1,043 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Behind los | 27/31 (87.1%), 213 yards, 1 TD | 43/46 (93.5%), 346 yards, 4 TDs |
The win at Michigan State was the first time in the first four games of the season that Howard had more passes without play action than he did with it. That trend continued against Iowa, as Howard completed 8-of-9 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown with play action compared to completing 13-of-16 passes for 130 yards, three touchdowns and an interception without it against the Hawkeyes.
| Play Action | Non-Play Action | |
|---|---|---|
| vs. Akron | 8/12 (66.7%), 141 yards (11.8 per attempt), 2 TDs | 9/16 (56.3%), 87 yards (5.4 per attempt), 87 yards, 1 TD |
| vs. western michigan | 11/13 (84.6%), 180 yards (13.8 per attempt), 1 TD | 7/13 (53.8%), 112 yards (8.6 per attempt) |
| vs. marshall | 11/14 (78.6%), 234 yards (16.7 per attempt), 2 TDs, 1 INT | 5/6 (83.3%), 41 yards (6.8 per attempt) |
| at Michigan state | 7/10 (70%), 67 yards (6.7 per attempt) | 14/21 (66.7%), 177 yards (8.4 per attempt), 2 TDs, 1 INT |
| vs. Iowa | 8/9 (88.9%), 75 yards (8.3 per attempt), 1 TD | 13/16 (81.3%), 130 yards (8.1 per attempt), 3 TDs, 1 INT |
| 2024 season | 45/58 (77.6%), 697 yards (12.0 per attempt), 6 TDs, 1 INT | 48/72 (66.7%), 547 yards (7.6 per attempt), 6 TDs, 2 INTs |
| 2023 season At Kansas state | 66/104 (63.5%), 976 yards (9.4 per attempt), 16 TDs, 4 INTs | 152/254 (59.8%), 1,654 yards (6.5 per attempt), 7 TDs, 6 INTs |
After struggling under pressure the first four games of the season, completing just 2-of-12 passes for 14 yards with the pocket collapsing, Howard did much better in that area on Saturday, completing 3-of-4 passes for 20 yards under pressure against Iowa. That said, his lone incompletion under pressure was an interception.
Howard also completed 9-of-10 passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns when Iowa blitzed, taking advantage of the Hawkeyes having fewer defenders in the secondary.
| PRESSURE | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| KEPT CLEAN | 88/1114 (77.2%), 1,210 yards (10.6 per attempt), 12 TDs, 2 INTs | 172/256 (67.2%), 2,075 yards, 15 TDs, 6 INTs |
| UNDER PRESSURE | 5/16 (31.3%), 34 yards (2.1 per attempt), 1 INT | 46/102 (45.1%), 555 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs |
| NOT BLITZED | 64/88 (72.7%), 745 yards (8.5 per attempt), 4 TDs, 2 INTs | 135/224 (60.3%), 1,565 yards, 10 TDs, 8 INTs |
| BLITZED | 29/42 (69%), 499 yards (11.9 per attempt), 8 TDs, 1 INT | 83/134 (61.9%), 1,065 yards, 13 TDs, 2 INTs |
Howard also added to his rushing touchdown total for a fourth straight game against Iowa, running for a 4-yard score in the third quarter, the first rushing touchdown Iowa's defense had allowed this season and the fourth straight game the quarterback has run for a touchdown. Howard finished with a season-high 10 carries for 28 yards and the score.
Make it four straight games with a rushing touchdown for Will Howard. pic.twitter.com/SLSAqSbA6c
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Below, we take a look at Howard's five best throws of the game and one that he'd love to have back.
Good Throw: Eight-yard Pass to Bryson Rodgers
Will Howard connects with Rodgers for a first down through a very tight window to convert 3rd-and-8 on Ohio State’s opening drive.
Good Throw: 14-yard Touchdown to Emeka Egbuka
While rolling out to his right, Howard throws a dart to Egbuka, which went right over a linebacker's hands for his first touchdown pass of the game.
Can't guard Emeka Egbuka. pic.twitter.com/72onxICg5n
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Worst Throw: Interception
With an Iowa linebacker and defensive end applying pressure, Howard forced a would-be first down throw to Egbuka even though Iowa cornerback Sebastian Castro was already in front of the wideout, turning into an interception.
SEBASTIAN CASTRO!! PICKS IT OFF FOR THE HAWKEYES pic.twitter.com/BbbIB3y5E8
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2024
While that throw is certainly one that Howard wished he hadn't made, Ryan Day was proud of the way his quarterback stayed the course and believed in himself even after that bad throw.
"I think when you have a couple things you'd like back, you learn from those," Day said. "He doesn't get rattled. I try to rattle him in practice, and he doesn't. He’s like, ‘I got you, Coach.’ That's a good sign for a quarterback. And I know he would like to have that throw back."
Good Throw: Four-yard Touchdown to Jeremiah Smith
Smith will get all the praise for his remarkable one-handed catch, his third in two weeks (and second touchdown doing so), but Howard put the ball in a spot where only his receiver could get it and allowed the star freshman to make an absurd catch.
Another week, another one-handed touchdown catch for Jeremiah Smith. pic.twitter.com/TaeVZo18nX
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
When Devin Brown came in briefly at Michigan State after Howard got the wind knocked out of him, Brown found Smith for his first one-handed touchdown catch of the season. Discussing that play after the game, Day said that Brown "put it there and we told him, if you have the opportunity to throw it, rip it. Only throw it where the receiver can catch it." Seems like Howard did the exact same thing.
Good Throw: 15-yard Touchdown to Emeka Egbuka
With the cornerback just behind Egbuka and the opposing safety coming over the top in the end zone, Howard throws a perfect pass just over his receiver's shoulder for Egbuka's second score of the game.
Make it 2 touchdowns for Emeka Egbuka. pic.twitter.com/4zXdLvP8yA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Good Throw: Three-yard Touchdown to Emeka Egbuka
On his very next throw after an Ohio State takeaway and a series of runs, Howard found Egbuka for a touchdown again, throwing yet another perfect pass just above the cornerback's head for Egbuka's third touchdown of the game, the first hat trick of his career.
GO OFF MEK!
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 5, 2024
Make it 3 touchdowns for Emeka Egbukapic.twitter.com/C9nhjKNF08
"Will put the ball on the money wherever it needed to be," Egbuka said of his three-touchdown performance.
Howard's passing chart through five games in the 2024 season:
