Will Howard picked a bad day to have his worst game as a Buckeye.
After playing some of his best football of the season a week prior against Indiana, Howard couldn't get anything going throughout much of Ohio State's upset loss to Michigan.
After throwing four straight completions to start the game, the quarterback missed on five of his next six throws, including an interception. Howard then completed nine of his next 10 passes before completing just five of his final 13 throws to end the game.
His best stretch of the game came on a two-minute drill to end the first half, a 1:45 stretch on which Howard completed six of eight passes for 58 yards and a touchdown with Ohio State going up-tempo.
In all, Howard completed 19-of-33 passes for a season-low 175 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His 57.6% completion rate in The Game was also a season-low and it was the first time he threw multiple interceptions in a game as a Buckeye.
To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's loss to Michigan, we charted all 33 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 finished with a 56.8 Total QBR, his lowest of the season, according to ESPN.
After Howard did quite well throwing the deep ball against Northwestern and Indiana the previous two games, he didn't take advantage of that area of the field against Michigan. For the first time this season, Howard didn’t throw a pass 20-plus yards against Michigan, as both of his deep-ball attempts intended for Jeremiah Smith didn’t count as official pass attempts since they drew defensive pass interference penalties. It's the second time this season he didn’t complete a deep ball as he was 0-for-1 with an interception on throws 20-plus yards in the third game of the season vs. Marshall.
His 53.1% completion rate on deep balls this season is tied for the third-best among FBS quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes 20-plus yards while his 96.4 PFF rating on deep balls is third-best in the country.
Howard threw just two interceptions in the short part of the field through the first 11 games of the season but threw two interceptions within nine yards of the line of scrimmage against Michigan, two very costly turnovers.
Howard's 11.9 yards per attempt on intermediate passes is tied for ninth in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown 25 passes in that area of the field.
| DEPTH (YARDS) | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 20+ | 17/32 (53.1%), 583 yards (18.2 per attempt), 4 TD, 1 INT | 15/46 (32.6%), 452 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 10-19 | 47/75 (62.7%), 894 yards (11.9 per attempt), 7 TD, 3 INT | 43/78 (55.1%), 789 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
| 0-9 | 113/150 (75.3%), 1,043 yards (7.0 per attempt), 14 TD, 4 INT | 117/159 (73.6%), 1,043 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT |
| Behind los | 50/57 (87.7%), 340 yards (5.8 per attempt), 2 TD | 43/46 (93.5%), 346 yards, 4 TD |
After completing a season-best 90.9% of his play-action passes against the Hoosiers (tied with the Oregon game), Howard threw a season-low four play-action passes against Michigan, completing three of those throws for 32 yards.
Howard's 79.3% completion rate on play-action passes is the best in the FBS among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes in that concept. His 11.4 yards per attempt on play-action passes are the seventh-most in the country.
He completed a season-low 55.2% of his passes without play action for 143 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Wolverines.
| Play Action | Non-Play Action | |
|---|---|---|
| vs. indiana | 3/4 (75%), 32 yards (8.0 per attempt) | 16/29 (55.2%), 143 yards (4.9 per attempt), 1 TD, 2 INT |
| 2024 season | 96/121 (79.3%), 1,376 yards (11.4 per attempt), 12 TD, 2 INT | 130/193 (67.4%), 1,477 yards (7.7 per attempt), 15 TD, 6 INT |
| 2023 season At Kansas state | 66/104 (63.5%), 976 yards (9.4 per attempt), 16 TD, 4 INT | 152/254 (59.8%), 1,654 yards (6.5 per attempt), 7 TD, 6 INT |
Howard was pressured just as much as he wasn't on his 34 dropbacks this past Saturday even though Michigan only blitzed on eight of those dropbacks. When the Wolverines brought extra pressure, he completed 6-of-8 passes for 73 yards. Conversely, Howard completed only 13-of-25 passes for 102 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions when the Wolverines didn't bring extra pressure.
After Howard completed just two of 12 passes for 14 yards under pressure in the first four games of the season, he did exponentially better under pressure the next seven games, completing 28-of-41 passes for 371 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions under pressure. Howard fell back to his early-season struggles in The Game as he completed just 6-of-16 passes for 74 yards and an interception under pressure against Michigan.
| PRESSURE | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| KEPT CLEAN | 189/242 (78.1%), 2,394 yards (9.9 per attempt), 22 TD, 5 INT | 172/256 (67.2%), 2,075 yards, 15 TD, 6 INT |
| UNDER PRESSURE | 37/72 (51.4%), 459 yards (6.4 per attempt), 5 TD, 3 INT | 46/102 (45.1%), 555 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT |
| NOT BLITZED | 143/200 (71.5%), 1,748 yards (8.7 per attempt), 13 TD, 7 INT | 135/224 (60.3%), 1,565 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT |
| BLITZED | 83/114 (72.8%), 1,105 yards (9.7 per attempt), 14 TD, 1 INT | 83/134 (61.9%), 1,065 yards, 13 TD, 2 INT |
Below, we take a look at three of Howard's worst throws in the loss against Michigan.
Bad Throw: Will Howard Throws an Interception Deep in OSU Territory
Howard stared down Carnell Tate on 3rd-and-9 and the Michigan cornerback jumped the route and returned the interception to the 3-yard line. The Wolverines scored two plays later to take a 7-3 lead, Michigan's only touchdown of the game.
MICHIGAN PICKS OFF WILL HOWARD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
The @UMichFootball defenese takes it right back! pic.twitter.com/jB3gbtC39s
Bad Throw: A Near-Interception with Interior Pressure on Will Howard
While the interior pressure likely played a part in Howard's inaccurate throw, he missed an open Emeka Egbuka. He not only missed his receiver but missed high over the middle with a throw that was behind his receiver, two things that a quarterback should rarely do when passing the ball in the middle of the ball.
Will Howard nearly threw another INT here pic.twitter.com/sXd0YUVJ9C
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
Bad Throw: Will Howard Throws Interception Inside the Red Zone
With the score tied at 10 with five minutes left in the third quarter, Howard threw it behind Egbuka which led to the quarterback's second interception of the game, a turnover that cost the Buckeyes a potential shot to take the lead.
WILL HOWARD IS PICKED OFF AGAIN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
The @UMichFootball defense continues to cause Ohio State problems
(brought to you by @ATTBusiness #ATTBusiness #NextLevelNetwork) pic.twitter.com/k8Fl1ueLnO
"The interception in the red area, he floated a little bit and it was a little bit behind (Egbuka)," Ryan Day said after the game. "Didn't have a lot of zip on it and kind of died. I know he's trying to make a play on the third down in the red zone and probably could have just thrown that away and would have had another opportunity there. So, there's a fine line of trying to make plays and win the game, but also, being smart enough to take care of the ball."
Howard's 83.2 Total QBR this season ranks sixth among FBS quarterbacks and is the third-best mark in the Big Ten behind Indiana's Kurtis Rourke (85.7) and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (85.0).
Howard's passing chart through 12 games in 2024:
