The Ohio State football team beat Notre Dame one week ago to claim the national championship. It was a game that the Buckeyes dominated until the fourth quarter. Even then, they were able to seal it thanks to a 56-yard pass on third-and-11 from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith.
It was a play that will live on in Ohio State football history forever. Smith had one-on-one coverage on the outside, and he was able to take advantage of that. It was a great throw by Howard and a great catch by Smith to essentially seal the game. Jayden Fielding's field goal gave them an 11-point lead.
The play itself was great, but there was something else that made it great. Ohio State released a video following the victory recapping everything. In that video, Emeka Egbuka essentially called out that play earlier in the game as something Ohio State should run.
Emeka Egbuka calls out the game-winning play for the Buckeyes
Egbuka remarks how Shuler, the Notre Dame corner, was playing with inside leverage one-on-one during a similar look earlier in the game. Egbuka essentially said that they should run that play later in the game, which they obviously did. Take a look at the video below.
Emeka Egbuka told Will Howard to throw the Go on #29’s inside leverage. They executed that perfectly with the game on the line. That is leadership and trust. pic.twitter.com/RtePJUP5kY
— Corey Rosenberg (@crosenberg565) January 26, 2025
The Buckeyes had a lot of trust in Howard to make that throw with the game on the line. He was their senior leader. Ryan Day felt extremely comfortable having the game in his hands. Smith is the best player on the team, so Day obviously felt comfortable putting the ball in his hands.
It was cool to see Egbuka recognize this on film. It was even cooler to see the Buckeye coaches agree with him and use that play when everything was on the line. That underscores why the Ohio State football team will be able to celebrate this national championship for a year.