Will Howard looking forward to revenge against childhood team Penn State

The Ohio State Buckeyes are set to face off in the marquee game of the week against Penn State and their starting QB will have some extra motivation for the matchup As noted by Chandler Vessels of On3 Sports, Will Howard told reporters that the QB "cannot wait" to play Penn State:

“I cannot wait. It’s gonna be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough, but I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”

The senior was a part of the 2020 QB recruiting class and the Nittany Lions refused to offer him a scholarship. Coming out of college, the gunslinger only received offers from Kansas State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Maryland, Kansas. In 2020, Franklin's staff only ended up taking "three-star Micah Bowens" with the QB already having Sean Clifford under center.

The Buckeyes are coming into this matchup with the program already suffering one loss this season and another loss would likely keep them out of the Big Ten championship game. A two-loss Ohio State program could still make the playoff but the team would likely lose all chances of making the playoff as a top-4 seed. Howard has slightly underperformed this season, having thrown for 1795 yards and 17 TDs.

Will Howard's play in his revenge game will likely be a crucial factor for Ohio State

While Jeremiah Smith's playmaking skills will probably make Howard's job against Penn State a lot easier, it's clear that the QB will need to perform in one of Buckeyes the biggest games of the season. He could also use help from the rest of his offensive playmakers, including TreVeyon Henderson, whose 400+ rushing yards this season have helped make up for a disappointing lack of explosiveness from Quinshon Judkins, who has just 520 rushing yards this season.

As Ohio State gets ready to face off against a limited Drew Allar Lions program, it's clear that the offense will need to be dangerous if they want to beat them.