Security Blocked Will Howard From Stage After Rose Bowl Win

Ohio State QB Will Howard with Rose Bowl trophy

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On Wednesday, Ohio State cruised past Oregon to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal with a win in the Rose Bowl. Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard played an instrumental role in the victory, but he wasn’t able to share the spotlight with some of his teammates thanks to a security guard who refused to let him join them on the stage.

Ohio State entered its College Football Playoff showdown with Oregon as slight favorites against the Ducks, and while the Buckeyes firmly bounced back from their stunning loss to Michigan with a decisive win over Tennessee in the opening round of the postseason, they seemingly faced a much more formidable opponent in the form of the only undefeated team in the country.

However, that did not turn out to be the case.

Ryan Day’s squad pulled out to a 7-0 lead with a touchdown on the opening drive and never looked back by scoring 34 unanswered points and heading into the locker room up by 26 at halftime. Oregon was able to address some of the issues that plagued the team in the first couple of quarters, but it was too little too late in a game where Ohio State ultimately walked away with the 41-21 victory.

Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was the undisputed star of the Rose Bowl after hauling in a couple of touchdowns while recording seven catches for 187 yards. Those connections came courtesy of QB Will Howard, who finished with three passing TDs thanks to another connection with Emeka Egbuka and racked up 319 yards in the air.

As a result, you’d think Howard would have been front and center on the stage where Rece Davis presented the Leishman Trophy to Day and the rest of the team after the final whistle blew, but he ended up on the outside looking in courtesy of a security guard who prevented him from heading up the stairs.