Breaking Down Will Howard's Performance in Ohio State's Loss at Oregon

He used his progressions, found open receivers, moved around in the pocket when needed and never threw more than one incompletion in a row up until his final two passes of the game. In all, Howard couldn't have played much better other than sliding a second later than he should have on the final play of the game.

He completed 28-of-35 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State's heartbreaking loss at Oregon. The fifth-year senior's 28 completions were a career-high, his 326 passing yards were one yard short of a career-high and his 80% completion rate was the third-best of his career as a starter, matching his completion percentage against Marshall on Sept. 21. In fact, three of Howard's four most efficient games as a starter have come in his last four games as a Buckeye.

"I (did) like the way Will played. I thought he competed. I thought he was tough in the game," Ryan Day said after the game.

To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's loss at Oregon, we charted all 35 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 93.4 QBR was the sixth-best among FBS quarterbacks in Week 7. He now has an 87.7 QBR this season, which is also the sixth-best among qualified quarterbacks.

After throwing only 11 passes more than 20 yards through the air in the first five games of the season, Howard showed off his arm a bit more against the Ducks, completing 3-of-4 deep balls for 96 yards, including his first pass of more than 20 yards between the hashes.

Howard continued to thrive in the short passing game in Eugene, completing 14-of-16 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown within nine yards of the line of scrimmage.

Howard also excelled in the play-action passing game, completing 10-of-11 play-action passes for 136 yards against Oregon. That said, he also attempted a season-high 23 passes without play action, completing 17 of those for 130 yards along with two touchdowns.

After Howard completed just two of 12 passes for 14 yards while under pressure during the first four games of the season, he completed three of four passes for 20 yards with the pocket collapsing against Iowa. That upward trend continued at Oregon, as Howard completed four of seven passes under pressure for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Ducks.

When Oregon didn't blitz, Howard completed 17-of-21 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Comparatively, he completed 10-of-13 passes for 116 yards when the Ducks did blitz.

Howard again showed off his playmaking ability as a runner, adding to his rushing touchdown total for a fifth straight game. He finished with nine carries for 13 yards on the ground against Oregon.

THE BUCKEYES STRIKE FIRST IN AUTZEN

Will Howard takes it himself to put @OhioStateFB on top pic.twitter.com/R0QuXHvr0W

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2024

As for his passing, we’ll take a look at five of Howard's best throws of the game, a good decision to keep a drive going and a bad throw.

Good Decision: Howard Gets Away From Pressure, Throws the Ball Away

Instead of getting sacked for more than a 10-yard loss or making a bad decision and turning the ball over, Howard finds a way to escape pressure and throw the ball away to live to see another play.

Good Throw: 15-yard Touchdown to Emeka Egbuka

Howard finds a wide open Egbuka and drops a throw in just before the Oregon safety gets there.

EGBUKA FOR THE TD@OhioStateFB takes back the lead pic.twitter.com/bQadXzctbi

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 13, 2024

Good Throw: 38-yarder to Jeremiah Smith

While it might look like Howard underthrows this ball at first, both of the Ducks' defensive ends are closing in on the quarterback as the pocket quickly collapses. He stands in the pocket and delivers the deep ball before getting hit.

The 38-yard connection was Howard's longest of the game.

Good Throw: Howard Goes Through Progressions, Finds Gee Scott Jr. For 25-yard Gain

Howard remains calm in the pocket, goes through his progressions on the left side of the field and then finds an open Scott in the middle of the field for a big gain.

"That big pass to Gee down the middle of the field I think was a really good decision by Will," Chip Kelly said of this pass.

Good Throw: 6-Yard Touchdown to Jeremiah Smith

Howard escapes the collapsing pocket with both defensive ends closing in on him once again, but continues to keep his eyes in the end zone and finds Smith near the sideline just before getting hit while scrambling away from pressure.

JEREMIAH SMITH

Will Howard finds Jeremiah Smith to put @OhioStatefb back in front pic.twitter.com/gMVGkJvRAR

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 13, 2024

Bad Throw: Will Howard Underthrows Jeremiah Smith

A touchdown on Ohio State’s penultimate drive would have gone a long way, and a better throw here by Howard could have given Smith a chance to turn downfield for a first down or perhaps even make Day think about going for it on 4th-and-short. Instead, the Buckeyes settled for a 40-yard Jayden Fielding goal, which Fielding made but gave OSU one point fewer than it would ultimately need.

Good Throw: 26-yard Drop in the Bucket to Emeka Egbuka

Howard finds an open Egbuka and gets him the ball just above the opposing cornerback's head. This throw got the Buckeyes into field goal range on their final drive until an offensive pass interference penalty against Smith two plays later moved Ohio State back, leading to Howard’s ill-fated scramble on the final play of the game.

Howard's passing chart through six games in the 2024 season: