Tennessee made its College Football Playoff debut in late December against Ohio State. The Vols, at the time, seemed undaunted by the frigid Columbus, Ohio, weather as they took the field for warmups sans shirts.
Whether that was meant as an intimidation tactic or not, it didn’t work. Tennessee was quickly bounced from the 12-team field in a 42-17 loss and, a few months after the Buckeyes won their first national title in a decade, former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard took one last parting volley at the Vols while reflecting on the scene.
“Well, the funny thing is, they came out with their shirts off and they ran over to the opposite end zone and immediately put them back on,” Howard said during an appearance on “Gruden’s QB Class,” hosted by former NFL coach Jon Gruden. “I was like, ‘What the f— are these clowns doing, man?’ At that moment I knew we had them.”
Had them Ohio State did as Howard turned in one of his best games of the year. He connected on 24 of his 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith.
Ohio State’s dominance against Tennessee was a sign of things to come. The Buckeyes avenged a regular-season loss against Oregon by trouncing the Ducks 41-21 in the Rose Bowl, beat SEC runner-up Texas by 14 points in the College Football Playoff semifinal and then cruised to a comfortable 34-23 victory against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Howard was named the offensive MVP of both the Cotton Bowl against Texas and the College Football Playoff National Championship. Now, he’s hoping he’ll hear his name called in April’s 2025 NFL Draft.
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