QB1 Will Howard (Official Thread)

[ScriptOhio]

Breaking Down Will Howard’s Performance in Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl Win Over Texas​

Will Howard did what Ohio State needed him to do against Texas to advance to the national championship game.

Howard began the game with plenty of accuracy, completing 10 of his first 12 passes. Then, from about the 12-minute mark of the second quarter through the first few minutes of the second half, Howard completed just five of his next nine passes, a stretch that included a 75-yard touchdown on a screen pass to TreVeyon Henderson and an interception.

But it was what he did in the fourth quarter that mattered the most. With Ohio State and Texas knotted at 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, Howard completed seven of nine passes for 52 yards in a pivotal final 15 minutes of the game. He also had a crucial 18-yard run to convert a 4th-and-2 on Ohio State’s go-ahead touchdown drive.

In all, Howard completed 24 of 33 passes for 289 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. It was one of only three games this season that he didn't throw multiple touchdowns, but his 33 pass attempts were the second-most of the season, behind only Ohio State’s regular-season game at Oregon (35) and tied with his 33 throws against Michigan.

To take a closer look at how Howard performed in Ohio State's win over the Longhorns, 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.)

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