Ohio State had a bit of a close call on Saturday coming off a bye following its loss to Oregon, but the Buckeyes survived at home against Nebraska 21-17 to move to 6-1 on the season.
Now, they’ll turn their attention to what could be one of the most impactful matchups of the entire season against unbeaten Penn State in State College next weekend. And for Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, the game is more than a little personal.
Howard was born and raised near Philadelphia and, by his own account, grew up a Penn State fan with his dream being to play for the Nittany Lions. However, he never received an offer despite the three-star recruit holding offers from other Big Ten teams like Maryland, Rutgers and Minnesota before eventually committing to Kansas State, where he spent his first four seasons.
After the win over the Cornhuskers, Howard said he’s eager to prove the Nittany Lions coaching staff wrong, according to Cleveland.com’s Stefan Krajisnik.
“I’m stoked. I cannot wait,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a homecoming for me. Grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough. I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”
Shots fired, indeed.
We’ll see if Howard can make a statement to his former dream school when the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions square off at noon ET next Saturday in a game with massive Big Ten and College Football Playoff implications.