As an Autzen Stadium field storming enveloped him and the rest of the Buckeyes, Howard had one of those "What have I just done? Actually, it was not what he had done. It was what he didn't do. Howard used all six seconds remaining with his desperation scramble. The Buckeyes left the field with a remaining timeout in their hip pocket and their first loss of the season, , that to this point has defined each program's season. In this new win-or-go-home expanded playoff, it's actually all about what you can do next.
Everything is about looking forward. But for Howard -- and for some of his Buckeyes teammates -- the loss has become somewhat of an examination of their football souls. What could everyone in Scarlet and Gray have done better in the game that changed the Big Ten and the season? The result, eventually, was the difference in Oregon winning the league in its first Big Ten season. It was also the closest challenge the Ducks have gotten to their undefeated season and what is now the No.
We're hungry. I'm just so fired up God gave us a chance at this thing. Actually, it has been a season of second chances -- maybe even third and fourth chances -- for Howard and Ohio State. The Buckeyes find themselves still playing for a national championship despite a regular-season second loss, this of the mind-boggling variety to Michigan. Being alive at this stage would have never been the case in the old four-team structure. Maybe that figures into the Buckeye mentality in L.
In a way, they can't believe they're here. Never mind devising a scheme in which quarterback Dillon Gabriel wasn't sacked for the third game in a row , the Buckeyes couldn't protect four different leads.
Lanning may have clinched the win by intentionally running a 12th man onto the field to draw a penalty and bleed the clock down to those precious six seconds. The NCAA changed its rule to address that loophole days later. But Howard admitted to beating himself up over the Oregon shortcoming, perhaps too much. After the team arrived back from Oregon at 6 a. Howard said he sat alone in the indoor facility contemplating life for about an hour. We all are here," Howard said.
