Ohio State looked dominant during 12-team opener College Football Playoffs.
After knocking out Tennessee in the first round, the Buckeyes defeated the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. Ohio State then defeated the Texas Longhorns in the semifinal to advance to Monday’s championship game.
Quarterback Will Howard will be under center when Ohio State faces Notre Dame in the highly anticipated title game.
Howard spent four seasons at Kansas State. However, he entered the transfer portal in 2023. In January 2024, he revealed his intentions to move to Ohio State. Howard had the best regular season of his college career in Columbus, Ohio.
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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, #18, leaves the field after the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on January 10, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The 23-year-old has thrown for 3,779 yards and a career-high 33 touchdowns against 10 interceptions during his freshman year at Ohio State. Howard has also used his legs this season, rushing for seven touchdowns.
EX-NOTRE DAME STAR PUSHES EXMOTION OF NATIONAL TITLE GAME WITH HARSH CRITICISM OF OHIO STATE’S WILL HOWARD
This year’s Buckeyes roster features several players, including Howard, who speak openly about their personal faith. Howard’s on-field interview after Ohio State’s aforementioned victory over Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day was one of many moments in which the quarterback put his beliefs on full display.
“First and foremost, I must thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me this opportunity to be on this stage at the Rose Bowl,” Howard said. “Younger me would be amazed right now.”
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, #18, passes against Texas during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Shortly after the Buckeyes were defeated by their main rival, Michigan, in late November, Howard referenced his faith when asked to share his reaction to the loss.
“I sat back and thought about the opportunity I have here and what I’ve been through this year, the ups and downs, it’s all been for my own good,” he said via Columbus news station WCMH, before reaffirming his unwavering faith. . “I know God is putting those obstacles in front of us to make us grow and there is a reason for that. I’m going to trust the plan.”
Will Howard, number 18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes, runs with the ball in the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
He added that having an unwavering “trust in the Lord” has proven beneficial in his life.
“We have to trust in the Lord and lean on Him no matter what, through the ups and downs,” he told NBC4. “I tried to read my Bible and pray a little. Just go back to the Lord and say, ‘I need you.'”
“When you come to Him humbly, your perspective changes. I lay it before Him and say, ‘God, I trust You. I don’t know why this happened, but it happened for a reason. I’m going to trust it.'”
Howard and several of his Buckeyes teammates arrived at preseason workouts wearing T-shirts that said “Jesus Won.”
The College Football Playoff National Championship game begins at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20 at 7:30 pm ET.
