Ohio State vs. Indiana Notebook: Caleb Downs Ends Ohio State’s Punt Return Touchdown Drought, Will Howard Breaks A School Record

By Dan Hope and Andy Anders on November 23, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Caleb Downs
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Just over 10 years from the day of Ohio State’s last punt return touchdown, the Buckeyes’ decade-long return touchdown drought finally came to an end.

Going into Saturday’s game against Indiana, Ohio State had gone 129 games without returning a punt for a touchdown. Ironically enough, Ohio State’s last punt return touchdown before Saturday also came in the penultimate game of a regular season against Indiana when Jalin Marshall had a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown on Nov. 22, 2014.

Exactly 10 years and one day later, Downs made good on Ryan Day’s preseason guarantee that Ohio State would have a return touchdown this year when he picked up a punt off of two bounces, spun away from one defender and weaved his way past several more, following his blocks and using his speed all the way for a 79-yard score.

Ohio State has been using Downs as one of two punt returners, along with Brandon Inniss, since the second half of its season began following its second bye week. Day said the Buckeyes made the move to begin using Downs as a punt returner because they wanted to get him involved in more ways than just his role as Ohio State’s free safety on defense, and Day had felt dating back to when Ohio State recruited Downs as a high school player that he could be a dynamic weapon with the ball in his hands.

"We made the decision a couple of weeks ago – really, about midway through the season, after the Oregon game – we just felt like Caleb needs to be more involved, to make more of an impact on games," Day said. "I think that what’s been happening on defense has kind of shown that that’s happened. And then we felt like as a punt returner, he was dynamic with the ball in his hands. When he was in high school, I felt like he could play running back here at Ohio State.”

Downs’ deployment as a punt returner also came as part of a more widespread effort for the Buckeyes to make more game-changing plays on special teams, and that trend continued for the third week in a row against Indiana. After Ohio State blocked punts against both Purdue and Northwestern, Downs’ touchdown was one of two big plays made by the punt return/block team against the Hoosiers as Caden Curry made a tackle for a 23-yard loss after Indiana punter James Evans let a punt slip through his hands in the second quarter.

Curry felt like that play helped set up Downs’ punt return later by making the Hoosiers focus more on not allowing a punt block. And he wasn’t surprised to see Downs be the one to end Ohio State’s return touchdown drought.

“We knew it was coming soon,” Curry said. “We practiced it so long, we knew it was coming. And having Caleb back there, all he had to do was break a couple. We knew he could do that.”

Howard breaks a school record

As Howard continues to post efficiency numbers that no Ohio State quarterback has posted before, he’s proving why the Buckeyes’ coaching staff felt he was the right signal-caller to pursue in the transfer portal.

Howard broke a school record by posting his sixth game with a completion percentage of 80% or better this season. That’s not only a season record, it’s a career record for the Buckeyes just 11 games into the former Kansas State player’s one-year stint in Columbus, breaking the previous record of five held by C.J. Stroud and Cornelius Green.

The fifth-year senior quarterback, who had just one game with a completion percentage of 80% or better at Kansas State, had his best completion percentage yet as a Buckeye against Indiana as he finished 22-of-26 (84.6%) for 201 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, which came on a pass that should have been caught by Jelani Thurman.

“That's cool man, but it really doesn't mean that much to me as long as we're winning a game,” Howard said of his school record. “That's really all that matters to me. Like I’ve said, completion percentage, if it's a good completion percentage, it means I'm making good decisions with the football and keeping us on track. So as long as we're winning games, I'm not really worried about stats.”

One of Howard’s best throws of the day came on Ohio State’s first touchdown, a Stroud-esque drop in the bucket to Emeka Egbuka on a slot fade for an 11-yard score.

“That was a play that we worked continuously throughout the week,” Egbuka said. “It was a look that we studied. That drop defensive end, I anticipated it. So trying to not let him collision me too much. And then Will just trusting it, putting it in the back of the end zone in the right spot.”

Howard, who has now completed 74% of his passes in 2024, is on track to break Ohio State’s single-season completion percentage record of 71.9% set by Stroud in 2022. Howard has 2,685 yards and 26 touchdowns this season against just six interceptions. 

Much like the rest of the Buckeyes, however, the quarterback’s mind isn’t on breaking records but on beating Michigan.

“I can’t wait. Like I said, I’m stoked,” Howard said. “I'm fired up. This one's for those guys who came back. This one's for Buckeye Nation. I feel it, man. I can just feel it. There's been hurt the last three years. This rivalry game, it's the first thing that I heard when I came here on my visit. Beat the team up north. It's the first goal we have every single year, beat the team up north. And, you know, you can say anything about the records (of both teams). It's going to be a hard game every single year. They're going to bring it. We’re gonna bring it.

“And I want to do this, man, for Coach Day. I want to do this for the guys who came back. For Emeka, for Trey, for JT, for Jack, for all those guys who came back. Tyleik, Ty, I could go on. But I want this for them so bad. Because they've been here. I've seen it from a distance. And I feel it, and I'm a part of it now, and I want this for me, too. But I want this for those guys.”

Raucous Saturday in the Shoe

There have been some sleepy atmospheres in Ohio Stadium this season, but the Buckeye faithful were up to the challenge of a top-five game on Saturday. A season-high 105,751 fans were in attendance.

Day said the Hoosiers had to opt for a silent count due to the noise level, negating the inherent advantage of a verbal or clap-based snap count for the offense. Ohio State fed off the momentum and energy of its crowd all contest.

“I thought the crowd was awesome,” Day said. “I thought our guys played with great passion. I thought the two of them just played off of each other the entire game. I think the fact that they had to go to a silent cadence didn't make a difference in this game. They tried to clap early, they couldn't. They went to the silent cadence, and that made a huge difference. Give the fans so much credit. I thought they brought great energy.”

Ohio State’s players were sure to note the impact of the crowd on Saturday, too.

“I'm proud of Buckeye Nation for showing up and being loud and making an impact on the game,” Howard said. “Having them go on the silent count, that really makes a difference. It really does. And truly, that was the loudest I've ever heard Ohio Stadium. That was the loudest I've ever heard in there. It was turnt up, man. I don't think I've ever gone crazier on the sideline than I did after Caleb's punt return.”

No doubt the Shoe will be rocking once again when the Buckeyes play Michigan at Ohio Stadium next week.

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