Ohio State has looked dominant throughout the first-ever 12-team sweep College football playoff.
After knocking off Tennessee in the first round, the Buckeyes blew out the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. Ohio State then defeated the Texas Longhorns in the semifinals 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 transfer to Ohio State. Howard went on to have 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 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 a career-high 3,779 yards and 33 touchdowns against 10 interceptions during his first year at Ohio State. Howard has also used his legs this season, rushing for seven scores.
EX-NOTRE DAME STAR FUELS NATIONAL TITLE GAME HYPE WITH HARSH CRITICISM OF OHIO STATE’S WILL HOWARD
This year’s Buckeyes roster features several players, including Howard, who are open about their personal beliefs. Howard’s interview on the field after Ohio State’s aforementioned commanding victory over Oregon at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day was one of many moments where the quarterback put his beliefs on full display.
“First of all, I have to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me this opportunity to be on this stage in the Rose Bowl,” Howard said. “The younger me would be in awe right now.”
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, #18, passes against Texas during the second half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Shortly after the Buckeyes were upset by top rival Michigan in late November, Howard referenced his faith when asked to share his reaction to the loss.
“I sat back and thought that the opportunity that 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 confirming his unshakable faith. . “I know God puts those obstacles in front of us to grow us and there’s a reason for that. I just want to trust the plan.”
Will Howard, #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 had to trust the Lord and lean on Him no matter what, through the ups and downs,” he told NBC4. “I was just trying to get in my Bible and pray a little bit. Just come back to the Lord and say, ‘I need you.'”
“When you come to Him in a humble way, it changes your perspective. I lay it down before Him and say, ‘God, I trust You. I don’t know why this happened, but it happened for a reason. I am will trust it.”
Howard and several of his Buckeyes teammates arrived at preseason practices wearing “Jesus Won” T-shirts.
The College Football Playoff National Championship game kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
