Ex-Ohio State QB slams rivalry with Penn State football

Over the last decade, fewer games have held more significance on the national landscape than when Penn State football battles Ohio State. A top-ten matchup in five of the previous ten seasons, annual contests between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have become appointment viewing for much of the college football world.

But former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard doesn’t think the matchup approaches “rivalry” status. Appearing on Ben Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast, the Buckeye-turned-Pittsburgh Steeler says that the matchup falls short in intensity compared to Ohio State’s traditional rival, Michigan.

“Obviously, I was a Penn State fan. So, Penn State thinks that their rivals are Ohio State, and Ohio State just doesn’t really see it that way,” Howard said.

Is Penn State a rival for Ohio State? Will Howard says no. https://t.co/5oBhj7C2Qh pic.twitter.com/dVwrLLnhKI

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) May 8, 2025

From Downingtown West High School, Howard was a three-star recruit and the No. 7 prospect out of Pennsylvania in the class of 2020. He committed to Kansas State, where he set the Wildcats’ career touchdown passing record before transferring to Ohio State for his final season. With the Buckeyes, Howard led the Big Ten with 4,010 passing yards last fall.

“It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan,” Howard said leading up to last November’s matchup with the Nittany Lions. “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.”

More bad blood between Penn State and Ohio State

Penn State football coach James Franklin and Ohio State coach Ryan Day. © Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State football has gone 1-9 against Ohio State in the last decade. Even if the game isn’t widely viewed as a rivalry, the bad blood between the two programs has certainly increased this offseason. In January, James Franklin hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from the national champion Buckeyes.

“I was asked not to go to the parade, and I respect that,” Knowles told ESPN’s Heather Dinich recently. “I’m not trying to be a secretive guy. Here’s this offer [at Penn State], there were a couple others that were every bit as much money, and then there was Ohio State’s offer, which was still great money, but not as much, so then you have to sit with it.”

“Maybe I’ll take less because Ohio State’s a great place. But then they asked me not to come to the [championship] parade. So then you’re like, ‘Okay, honestly, the writing is on the wall.’ Now, it becomes something. It’s always something on the outside world, but now it’s become something here, too. I hadn’t made any decisions, but you just kind of feel like — I wouldn’t say I’m not wanted here — but you just feel like, okay, now it’s gotten awkward.”

The Nittany Lions will take on the Buckeyes in Columbus on November 1.

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