Rich Eisen points to Will Howard's change in play from Michigan to Notre Dame game

Quarterback Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 on Monday to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. The team dominated throughout the playoffs and never was close to losing a game.

Most of the credit has gone towards the great defense and outstanding play of young wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. However, Rich Eisen thinks Howard deserves more credit.

In an episode of "The Rich Eisen Show" aired on Wednesday, Eisen talked with insider Bruce Feldman about the impact Howard had and how he improved his play after the Michigan game.

"He was superb. I was equating him to Phil Simms in the Super Bowl," Eisen said (starts at 11:00). "He didn't miss. And the throws were awesome. They were exactly where they needed to be. He had a full command. He used his legs appropriately. He stayed away from the big hit which he did not do against Michigan and he was terrific."

Feldman agreed with Eisen's analysis of Howard.

"He was, he's really smart and I think they have a lot of talent around him," Feldman said. "Two terrific running backs, the defense is so good. TreyVeyon Henderson to me has always been to me been like a wow running back. You saw it on the 75 yard screen pass right before halftime in the semifinal game."

Will Howard improved his play significantly in the College Football Playoff

Will Howard has not gotten a lot of credit for his performance in the College Football Playoff. That is largely because he was an effective quarterback in the regular season, but not a driving force. However, that changed in the playoffs after the Michigan game. The signal-caller stepped up his play and performed at an elite level in all four playoff games.

In four playoff games, Howard did not have a game with less than 230 passing yards. He had three games with over 280 passing yards, including two over 300. He only eclipsed 300 yards in a game once throughout the entire regular season.

What really stands out for Howard is he had a QBR of over 90 in all four of the Buckeyes playoff games. In 12 regular season games, he only had three games with a QBR over 90.

In the National Championship Game, Howard had his highest-rated game of the season with a 99.1 QBR. He completed 17 of 21 passing attempts for 231 yards and two touchdowns.