It’s championship or bust for Will Howard and Ohio State

There are a few programs in college football where a national championship is the only goal that matters. Alabama is certainly one of those places, and Georgia has become that way as well.

You can also make a case that No. 2 Ohio State has a “championship or bust” mindset, and that’s especially prevalent this season with the Buckeyes seemingly going all in via recruiting and the transfer portal to put the best possible team on the field.

That team will finally be tested on Saturday with a road matchup with No. 3 Oregon. It’s going to be a huge game with massive College Football Playoff implications, and ahead of it, OSU quarterback Will Howard spoke about the expectation he feels in Columbus. 

“I don’t think that conversation happens a lot, but I think we all just know,” Howard said on “The Triple Option” podcast, according to On3. “And I think being at a place like Ohio State, I know that we say it’s natty or bust this year, but I feel like it’s really like that every year. Like it’s one of those places where you got to win them all, and it’s the standard man, and expectations are so high and I knew that coming in.”

Remember, Howard spent the past few seasons at Kansas State, which is a great program, but it is no OSU.  

Kansas State went 9-4 last season with a win in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which is a pretty good season. At Ohio State, though, that type of season would be a massive appointment.

It’s win-it-all all or bust in Columbus, and even in the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, the goal is to win them all as well. That’s what makes this weekend’s matchup with Oregon so important.

OSU could still make the CFP with a loss to Oregon on its resume, but losses aren’t tolerated well for the Buckeyes.

“We know that last year it was 11-1 and it’s a failed season. The expectations here are a little bigger and it’s not something we really talk about. We’re taking it a week-to-week process, but in the back of our minds, we’ve drilled it in our heads,” Howard said. “Our goals are big and we want to beat the team up north, we want to win a Big Ten Championship, we want to win a natty, and that’s it. Anything else doesn’t really matter, that’s what we got in the back of our heads.”