For a few minutes, it appeared as though Will Howard’s first and only appearance in The Game would end in the second quarter.
After taking a shot to the head from Michigan safety Makari Paige on a 2-yard run, Howard spent an extended amount of time down on the field before walking off with members of Ohio State’s medical staff and going straight into the medical tent. When Howard re-emerged from the tent a couple of minutes later, the Ohio State quarterback no longer had his helmet with him – usually a sign that a player will not be returning to the game.
Devin Brown entered the game for Ohio State’s subsequent play and Quinshon Judkins ran for a 10-yard gain on a 4th-and-1 conversion, prompting Michigan to call a timeout. As FOX went to one of its many commercial breaks, Howard began jogging on the sideline and pleading with the medical staffers to give him his helmet back. Upon being told he could return to the game, Howard excitedly waved to the crowd, prompting a loud roar from the Ohio Stadium patrons.
The exchange prompted questions, however, about why Howard initially had his helmet taken away from him before it was given back. After the game, Howard said he was evaluated for a concussion during his time in the tent but that he was cleared to return.
“I got banged up and I was good enough to come back,” Howard said.
Howard said his only thought after getting hit was trying to get back into the game as quickly as possible.
“There's nothing inside of me that wanted to come off that field,” Howard said.
Whether that hit affected Howard’s performance once he returned to the game is uncertain. He didn’t use it as an excuse, but did have his worst game of the season as he completed only 19 of 33 passing attempts for 175 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions in Ohio State’s 13-10 loss.
“I don't know what it was, but we got to execute better,” Howard said of Ohio State’s offensive struggles. “Bottom line is we lost. And it hurts, man. I can't say it enough, I'm sorry to Buckeye Nation. But, listen, we still got things ahead of us. And we can still run the table and win a national championship. I think at the end of the day, that's what you have to focus on, and that's got to keep us going. Because this one hurts like hell.”
“I can't say it enough, I'm sorry to Buckeye Nation.”– Will Howard
Special teams lapses costly for Buckeyes
One week after Ohio State’s special teams had an elite showing against Indiana, they were disastrous in The Game.
It started with kicker Jayden Fielding, who went 1-of-3 on field goals with misses of 34 and 38 yards. His 34-yard miss had the potential to put the Buckeyes ahead 13-10 in the third quarter after Caleb Downs intercepted a pass to set Ohio State up at the Michigan 16-yard line.
“The turnovers, the rushing yards, and then you miss opportunities like those two field goals, yeah, it’s going to cost you in a game like this,” Ryan Day said when asked about the kicking game. “Every yard matters. Every point matters. And we didn’t get it done.”
There were other special teams lapses on Saturday. TreVeyon Henderson let a kickoff bounce rather than take it in stride, and a backwards hop after it hit the ground forced him to dive on the football, pinning the Buckeyes at their own 6-yard line. It was the only kick or punt return of the day for Ohio State.
Punter Joe McGuire also had a 31-yard duck, though he added a nice boot that pinned the Wolverines at their own 2-yard line.
“Panic” leads to late 12-man penalty
While Ohio State’s defense was easily its strongest unit against Michigan, its struggles to get off the field in the fourth quarter are likely what it will remember most from Saturday’s loss given the game’s result. The Buckeyes allowed the Wolverines to move the chains on third down in the fourth quarter, and the last of those first downs came as a result of a particularly inexcusable mistake.
With Michigan facing 3rd-and-2 at Ohio State’s 9-yard line and just 1:55 left to play, Ohio State was penalized for an illegal substitution when Arvell Reese ran onto the field without any Buckeye leaving the field, giving the Buckeyes 12 defenders in the game. Ryan Day attempted to call a timeout to avoid a penalty, but it wasn’t granted because Ohio State had just called a timeout, resulting in a new set of downs for the Wolverines. That allowed Michigan to run the clock down to 45 seconds, while forcing Ohio State to burn its two remaining timeouts, before kicking the game-winning 21-yard field goal.
Had Ohio State gotten the ball back with nearly two minutes left on the clock and still having one timeout, the Buckeyes would have had more of a full playbook available to them to try to mount a game-tying or winning drive. Instead, Ohio State was forced to throw quick passes on every play after getting the ball back, and its final drive ultimately went nowhere as the Buckeyes went 4-and-out, allowing Michigan to kneel out a three-point victory.
Asked about the 12-man penalty after the game, Day said there was a miscommunication about which personnel Michigan had in the game offensively, and the Buckeyes panicked and made a crucial mistake as a result.
“Yeah, there was miscommunication in terms of the grouping based on what they had in the game. They were fast to run off the sideline and we weren't given a ton of time to be able to match the personnel,” Day said. “So, in that moment, as it was getting loud, there was miscommunication in terms of what was in the game. And because it was moving so fast, there was a little bit of panic going on. Typically, when a group runs on the field, you get a little bit of time to make sure you make that substitution. And that time was very, very fast. And so we had to quickly respond to that, and we didn't well enough, and we panicked and it cost us.”
- Michigan 13, #2 Ohio State 10
- • Buckeyes Lose The Game Again, 13-10
- • Offense Fails to Play to Its Strengths
- • Seniors Go Out Winless Against Wolverines
- • Fight at Midfield
- • Ohio State Postgame • Michigan Postgame • Photos • After Carmen
- • Five Things • Notebook • Social Reax • Three Key Stats
