Will Howard put the rose in his mouth, smiled, flexed for the cameras and ran to his offensive line for a picture. After thanking the unit for keeping him upright throughout the game — Ohio State did not allow a sack — the Buckeyes quarterback ran to do an interview with ESPN.
Then, he had one more stop before heading to the locker room — the student section to celebrate Ohio State’s 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
It was pure joy and excitement for the Kansas State transfer who came to Ohio State to play in games like this. He came to Ohio State to win a national championship, raise his NFL Draft stock and share the moments with his family along the way.
He had plenty of reasons to celebrate. In the biggest game of his short Ohio State career, he completed 24 of 29 passes for 311 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was one of Howard’s best games of the season, and the seventh time he completed at least 80 percent of his attempts — an Ohio State record.
Howard was one of many Buckeyes who shined on the big stage. Jeremiah Smith, the national freshman of the year by many outlets, caught six passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka had five receptions for 81 yards. And running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins each had two rushing touchdowns.
𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀. pic.twitter.com/chf6OEtiZR
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 22, 2024
After weeks of hearing how bad the offense was in the 13-10 loss to Michigan, Ohio State let everything loose against Tennessee and showed exactly why it has been referred to as the most talented team in the country.
Ohio State had four receivers catch a pass on Saturday, all of them former five-star recruits — Smith, Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss, who had a 6-yard reception with the backups. Henderson, too, was a five-star recruit, and Judkins has turned into one of the best running backs in the country.
Bottom line: Ohio State was more talented than Tennessee, but for the first time this season — in a big game — the Buckeyes took advantage of their talent gap and left no doubt about the result.
It was clear from the start that the coaching staff was punching all of the right buttons.
“We called this game more aggressively, there’s no doubt about that,” coach Ryan Day said. “But we also did some things in this game that maximized what we had in our strengths and minimized our deficiencies.”
Howard was thrilled with the game plan.
“You saw. It was a pretty good game,” he said when asked what excited him about the coach’s plan to attack Tennessee.
It was more than “pretty good.” It was Ohio State’s best offensive game since the loss to Oregon.
Ohio State scored 42 points and averaged 7.4 yards per play and 4.7 yards per rushing attempt against a Tennessee defense that ranks in the top 10 nationally in all three categories.
Ohio State jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on its first three possessions — drives of 75 68 and 58 yards.
The start made people wonder where this offense was in the last game against Michigan, and also the week before that against Indiana, when the Buckeyes had their two lowest yardage outputs of the season.
Day knew they didn’t play well in those games and something had to change.
“We got the punt return and a turnover in the red zone, but we really didn’t play great on offense against Indiana, to be honest,” Day said. “Then (we) went into the last game and we still didn’t know the ramifications with what was going on based on what we had going on up front.”
What changed? Well, Ohio State was much more aggressive, both in its play calling and also its play on the field.
Ohio State has been criticized for being soft and a team that plays uptight at times. That wasn’t the case on Saturday, and it was evident from the start.
“For three weeks, everyone in the world was telling us we sucked,” offensive lineman Donovan Jackson said. “Half the fan base was telling us we sucked. Almost every analyst, expert and anyone with a podcast was telling us we sucked. We took it personally. That’s not how we were going to go out. … We went out there and played with our hair on fire, that was the message all week.”
The Buckeyes scored on a 75-yard drive to open the game. Four of the five plays were passes, including a 37-yard touchdown toss to Smith.
That drive set the tone for the rest of the game and sent a message to Tennessee.
“It was the execution,” Day said. “There were a lot of things in that last game we look back on that we didn’t execute very well. There were things we needed to do better (with) scheme, but we also needed to execute. … There was a confidence coming out of that first quarter, but even in warm-ups you could feel it. There was a confidence that built in practice.”
When Ohio State plays with that level of confidence, and aggression, it’s not just an offense that’s hard to stop — it’s a complete team that has the potential to win a national championship.
The defense, which had been an issue for some of Day’s previous teams, hasn’t given up more than two touchdowns in a game since the Oct. 12 loss to Oregon. There was pressure on the offense to step up and prove it could produce in a big game.
Michigan might have been the wake-up call that this offense — and its coaches — needed. On Saturday, the Buckeyes reminded everyone that they possess the best set of skill players in the country. And when they are aggressive and play loose, they’re hard to stop.
“Getting the ball in our playmaker’s hands is huge, in space,” Howard said. “Giving those guys opportunities to get in space and do what they do is huge. We did a heck of a job with that tonight.”
(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / Imagn Images)
