“Nobody wants to give me any credit”: Ohio State QB shares motivation ahead of the National Championship showdown

Quarterback Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes will compete against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship on Monday. The Buckeyes advanced after defeating the Texas Longhorns 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull ahead.

Ohio State has been dominant since its regular season finale, where it lost 13-10 to unranked Michigan. Since then, the team has comfortably defeated all three of its College Football Playoff opponents to reach the finals.

Quarterback is widely considered to be the most valuable position in football. However, despite this, Will Howard has not been given much credit for the Buckeyes' turnaround. Instead, praise has been directed toward the defense and young offensive weapons like Jeremiah Smith. Howard spoke about this on 10TV on Wednesday:

"Nobody wants to give me any credit but I love that, keep it coming. As much motivation as I get, I’m gonna take."

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How good has Will Howard been for Ohio State in the College Football Playoff?

While it may be true that Will Howard is not the best player on the Buckeyes, there is no denying that his play has been a big factor in their best football of the season coming at the right time. Through three CFP games, Howard has yet to record a QBR lower than 90.

Comparatively, Howard only had three games throughout the regular season with a QBR over 90. Additionally, he threw for over 300 yards in two playoff games, and in the one game he didn't, he threw for 289 yards against Texas. Looking back at the regular season, Howard only surpassed 289 yards twice and had just one game with over 300 yards.

Additionally, Will Howard only threw two interceptions and was sacked only twice in three playoff games, all of which occurred against Texas. In the regular season, Howard threw eight interceptions and was sacked 10 times.

Meanwhile, Ohio State's defense has been excellent, limiting opponents to just 52 points across three games.