Why did Ohio State football score its final touchdown instead of taking a knee?

Posted by Admin November 23, 2024 Football

Ohio State called it an exclamation point to its 38-15 victory over Indiana.

Others might have raised their eyebrows at the Buckeyes punching in the final touchdown with 35 seconds left instead of taking a knee.

Will Howard‘s 1-yard score was set up on a 39-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson, who broke free on a run up the middle and would have scored had he not slid to the turf at the 1.

“I said, ‘You’re a better man than me, dude,’” Howard responded when asked his reaction to Henderson not scoring. “I don’t know if I would have gotten that far down the field and slid down at the 1. But hey, he’s being a smart football player.”The play came after Indiana scored a touchdown and converted a 2-point conversion to make it a two-possession game. That gave the Hoosiers a mathematical, though infinitesimal, chance of a comeback.

But the outcome was assured when the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds and Ohio State took over at the IU 40.

Day said the Buckeyes took the approach it did at the end of the Penn State game, when it chewed up the final 5 minutes of the game with run plays. On the last play of that game, Howard broke free on a run and had a chance to score but slid instead.

After Henderson’s run, it looked like Ohio State might take a kneel-down to end the game. But Howard ran twice, scoring on the second one.

“We’re on the 1-yard line,” Day said, “and we just felt like we wanted to put an exclamation point on the win by going ahead and sneaking it in.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said he had no issue with OSU not taking a knee.

“No, (Day has) got to do what he’s got to do for his team,” he said.

The touchdown mattered to some bettors because the game’s over/under on total points was about 52 points.