Will Howard hasn’t forgotten the last time he played Texas.
It was last season as Kansas State’s quarterback when he had the Wildcats on the cusp of an upset.
Trailing by three points in overtime, Howard completed a pass to a tight end over the middle that put them at the Longhorns’ 6-yard line and in position for a potential game-winning touchdown.
Then the drive collapsed in a span of four plays, ending with him lying on his back on the field at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. On fourth-and-goal, he had rolled to his right to escape pressure from Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II before running into defensive end Barryn Sorrell and falling to the turf.
“That one still sticks with me, still pisses me off a little bit,” Howard said. “I just felt like we had it.”
With Ohio State to face Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals this week, he gets a shot at redemption.
Howard was winless against the Longhorns when he was at Kansas State, including three losses as a starter. Excluding some of the new schools that joined the Big 12 in 2023, Texas was the lone conference opponent Howard never defeated.
“There’s definitely a little extra motivation there,” Howard said Sunday.
Before leaving for the Southeastern Conference along with Oklahoma last year, the Longhorns were one of the league’s bullies. Kansas State last beat Texas in 2016.
“They were walking around and being the tough guys,” Howard said, “and they beat up on us a little bit.”
It made last season’s narrow loss all the more agonizing. He threw for a career-high 327 yards and four touchdowns, a passing performance that helped the Wildcats erase a 20-point deficit to force overtime, but could not push them over the top.
“I know there’s a lot of people back in Kansas that are rooting for the Buckeyes to get this one done against these guys,” Howard said.
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While the Buckeyes are favored, the Longhorns present another formidable challenge for Howard.
The Longhorns hold the nation’s top-ranked pass defense, allowing only 5.5 yards per pass attempt. With a ball-hawking secondary led by Jim Thorpe Award-winning cornerback Jahdae Barron, they have 21 interceptions, tied for the second-most in the in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Barron and safety Andrew Mukuba lead them with five interceptions apiece.
It will require the experience of Howard, who has made 42 career starts since 2020, to shine.
“They try to bait you into throwing the ball into tight windows,” Howard said, “and you have to be smart. Playing a defense like this, you have to know when to take those shots and when not.”
Howard said the defensive backs’ coverage demands patience from him. If a throw is forced, a mistake can be compounded.
“Those guys react quick and break on balls well,” he said.
Since a low point in the loss to Michigan that capped the regular season, Howard has bounced back and has been on a hot streak in the postseason. He put together 300-yard passing games in both playoff wins, combining for 630 yards and five touchdowns, leaning on star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.
He has also made good decisions from the pocket. In a quarterfinal rout of Oregon at the Rose Bowl last week, he finished without throwing an interception for the first time in four games.
None of his 55 postseason pass attempts have been defined as turnover-worthy plays by Pro Football Focus. An interception in the first round against Tennessee resulted when linebacker Arion Carter knocked the ball out of the grasp of Smith, allowing it to fall into the hands of cornerback Will Brooks.
This stage, with a national championship game hovering not far from the horizon, would leave little need for players to find extra sources of motivation. But Howard has often sought an edge, an approach rooted in a career arc that began as an overlooked three-star recruit from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
“I’ve always looked at myself as somewhat of an underdog,” he said.
As the Buckeyes prepared for a rematch with Oregon in the last round, Howard could not forget the disappointment of their October loss.
With his slide as time expired two and a half months earlier, they were unable to attempt a possible game-winning field goal.
Even in the regular season, preparing for a game at Penn State, he nursed a grudge with his home-state school for not offering him a scholarship out of Downingtown West High School.
Both episodes added to a chip on his shoulder.
“You can’t be making up a story to get you pumped up every single week,” Howard said. “You have to strive and want to be the best. It’s just so happened there are some games this year that are a little personal to me that have hit home.”
That includes the upcoming semifinal clash against Texas, the feeling of bitterness from a loss from 14 months ago still fresh.
“It’s a new place for me,” Howard said, “but I don’t like how that one ended, and I’m excited to get another chance at these guys.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@joeyrkaufman or email him atjkaufman@dispatch.com.
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