Will Howard stats last night: Ohio State QB's performance in Big Ten blockbuster explored

Will Howard played one of the biggest games of his college career on Saturday as he was under center for the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road against the Oregon Ducks. He did enough to win on most games, but unfortunately for him, it was not enough on this night as the Oregon Ducks secured a 32-31 victory.

Howard played incredibly well as he finished the game going 28-of-35 for 326 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns. He also had nine rushing attempts for 13 yards (1.4 yards per carry) and a rushing touchdown. That is no easy task as the Oregon Ducks defense has been one of the best in college football this season.

This was a close game throughout and lived up to the hype for Big Ten Conference action. The Ohio State Buckeyes now have their first loss of the regular season and will need to regroup and prepare for the Nebraska Cornhuskers after a week off.

What does this game tell us about Will Howard?

Some people are going to view this loss to Oregon as a failure of Will Howard due to the last play, where he was unable to get down quick enough to call a timeout before the game clock expired. However, this is exactly why the Ohio State Buckeyes were interested in Howard as he will put the Buckeyes in positions to win every game they play.

After this game, he now has 14 touchdown passes to three interceptions this year. He will not lose too many games while playing as well as he did against the Ducks.

He will have to own up to the mistake and learn from it. If he does, he can keep the Buckeyes in a position to win games and still compete for the Big Ten Conference Championship and a College Football Playoff berth.

Moreover, his performance keeps him in the conversation for the 2024 Heisman Trophy. However, he is +6000 to win the award and has the 14th-best odds for the award, per DraftKings.

Having a veteran quarterback in college football is a massive advantage and that is something the Ohio State Buckeyes did not have the last few seasons.