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Greetings from Can’t Wait For Saturday, your morning piece of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini sportswriter, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state representative Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views on the game he loves every day.
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Ohio State football coach Ryan Day made an announcement this week that was unnecessary.
The team I picked No. 1 in my Associated Press preseason poll is using Kansas State transfer Will Howard as its starting quarterback. Sure. If that wasn’t the case, why did the school bring him in? To piss off the people in Manhattan? Not likely.
Howard started 28 games for the Wildcats. His decision to join the Buckeyes this season is one of the reasons I consider the Buckeyes to be the best in the country. And he is not one of the six Ohio State players I nominated for my preseason All-American team, which will be announced Monday.
Ohio State has so much to offer a top player, but brilliant marketing is apparently not one of the Buckeyes’ strong points.
The offense is strong and Howard was the final, crucial piece of the puzzle. If he can play like he did at Kansas State in 2022, the Buckeyes will be in top form.
Howard was good in 2023, throwing 24 touchdown passes. But his 10 interceptions are nothing to worry about. Of course, he’s surrounded by great players in Columbus, so those numbers should improve.
Will Ohio State be on top in 2024? Possibly. Having Howard on his side makes it more likely. For the folks in Columbus, there’s nothing better than beating Michigan in 2023 by winning the next title…with more wins.
Stay tuned.
