Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
We are a month removed from Ohio State’s 32-31 loss to Oregon. After a bye week following the loss to the Ducks, the Buckeyes have won their last three games. Ohio State was less than impressive in a 21-17 win at home against Nebraska before going on the road and continuing their dominance over Penn State with a 20-13 win over the Nittany Lions in State College. Last week was the most complete performance we have seen from the Buckeyes over the last three contests, as they shut out Purdue 45-0. Following some doubt about if Ohio State was even going to make the College Football Playoff after sleepwalking through their win over the Cornhuskers, now Buckeye Nation is eagerly anticipating a possible rematch with the Ducks in next month’s Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.
Sometimes a loss can be the best medicine for a team since it makes them take a deeper look at what they have been doing, and what they are trying to accomplish. Unlike previous years when a loss would have put a serious dent into their playoff hopes, this year things have changed because of the new 12-team CFP format. For some Buckeyes, the loss to Oregon has lit a fire under them and they have stepped up their play in the three games since. Ohio State knows if they don’t lose another game this season, they’ll not only end the season as Big Ten champs, but they’ll also be national champions.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State player has stepped up since the loss to Oregon?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Carnell Tate
It’s not that Tate was underperforming before the Oregon game, it just feels like the sophomore wide receiver is becoming more comfortable and assertive in the Ohio State offense. The addition of Jeremiah Smith has in a way made people forget about just how good Tate can be. When he committed to Ohio State, Tate was looked at as the next Buckeye receiver who was going to move on to make an impact in the NFL. Lately, Tate has been reminding college football just how talented he is.
In the first game after the loss to the Ducks, Tate put together the best performance of his college career, recording his first 100-yard receiving game as a Buckeye against Nebraska. Tate caught four passes in the game, matching his career-high from the Akron and Marshall games earlier in the season. Heading into this week’s game, Tate has 27 receptions for 405 yards and two touchdowns.
Even though Purdue didn’t provide tough competition on Saturday, Tate was extremely impressive against the Boilermakers. The Chicago native made a number of tough catches on his way to grabbing a new career-high six catches, finishing with 56 yards. In the first half of the season, it felt like the Ohio State passing attack was just Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. With Tate’s development as the season has moved along, opposing defenses are going to have another talented receiver that they are going to have to try and figure out how to slow down. With the amount of dangerous skill players the Buckeye offense has at their disposal, opponents aren’t going to be able to stop everyone since they’ll likely end up overcommitting resources to some players.
This week against Northwestern feels like it could be a prime spot for another strong performance from Tate. Not only will Tate be returning to Chicago, he will be playing at Wrigley Field. Even though Northwestern has been a little better than Purdue this year, that’s not saying much. Over the last three games, Emeka Egbuka has been pretty quiet, catching seven passes. At least through this week, we might see Tate be targeted more as the offense could be limiting Egbuka’s targets to try and keep him fresher for the closing stretch of the regular season, as well as the Big Ten Championship Game.
Matt’s answer: Will Howard
I have been on board the Will Howard Train from pretty early on in the season as I just thought that there were levels to his game, both on and off the field, that Ohio State needed from its quarterback in order to get where it was capable of going.
However, I have been incredibly impressed with how he has handled his business following the loss in Eugene exactly one month ago. Not only is Howard one of the most open, honest, and insightful people when speaking to the media, his passion for the game, his team, and his new school are evident as well.
But, when you look at what he has done on the field the last few weeks, it has been increasingly championship-level, in my opinion. While not yet perfect, especially on deep balls, Howard has been as close to flawless as you could reasonably ask for from him since coming out of the bye week.
Against Nebraska, Penn State, and Purdue — a cross-section of competition levels in the Big Ten — Howard has gone 50-for-66 (75.8%) for 663 yards (13.26 yards per completion, 10.05 per attempt), 8 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. In those three games, he has also run for a TD as well.
Of course, we all recognize that those aren’t the type of gaudy numbers that get people onto Heisman Watchlists, but they are the type of numbers that win you games. As I said, Howard is admittedly not especially adept at throwing the deep ball, but in short and intermediate ranges, he is damn near perfect.
In the last three games, he has 45-for-56 (80.4%) on passes thrown down the field 20 yards or less. On those throws, the Buckeyes picked up a combined 481 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 INTs. On passes of more than 20 yards in those games, he is 5-for-10 (50%) for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns.
When you combine that with his ability to move in, around, and out of the pocket, keep the ball on RPOs, and lineup under center in short-yardage situations, I have just been thoroughly impressed with what he brings to this team. When you have offensive weapons like Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, Jeremiah Smith, et. al, you don’t need the flashiest quarterback in the sport, you need someone who is going to be efficient in getting the ball in his playmakers’ hands, and can do the little things to keep drives alive. To me, Will Howard is shaping up to be the modern-day Craig Krenzel; far more talented, but equally capable of putting his team in positions to win.