4th & goal: OSU’s Howard eyes 1st win vs. Texas
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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
After failing to beat Texas during his four years at Kansas State, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard noted the upcoming showdown against the Longhorns carries “extra motivation” for him.
“That was the only team I didn’t beat when I was in the Big 12,” Howard said Sunday. “They’re always a good team. But none of those games were unwinnable. Definitely excited to get another chance at these guys.”
Howard’s Buckeyes face Texas in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday with a trip to the national championship on the line.
Howard has thrived in his two outings in the College Football Playoff, posting a postseason QBR of 98.3, the best of any playoff quarterback. Ohio State defeated Tennessee 42-17 in the opening round then Oregon 41-21 in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal. Howard passed for a total of 630 yards with five touchdowns in those games, propelling the Buckeyes to the playoff semifinal against the Longhorns.
“Texas is a heck of a football team,” Howard said. “So we’re going to have to be on our stuff.”
Howard went 0-3 against Texas while at Kansas State; he didn’t play in the Wildcats’ 2022 loss to the Longhorns.
Behind now-Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson, Texas routed the Wildcats 69-31 in 2020 with five touchdowns in the third quarter. In 2021, Howard and the Wildcats led at halftime but couldn’t hold on after failing to score in the second half.
But Howard said the loss that “still pisses” him off came last year, when the Longhorns prevailed in overtime 33-30 after Howard slipped while trying to throw a pass on fourth-and-goal from the Texas 4-yard line. The Longhorns went on to win the Big 12 and make the playoff.
“That one still sticks with me,” Howard said. “I don’t like how that one ended. … I know there’s a lot of people back in Kansas that are rooting for the Buckeyes to get this one done against these guys.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers and safety DeShon Elliott have agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million extension with $9.21 million guaranteed, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Elliott, 28, was one of the Steelers’ best run defenders last year with 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 tackles for loss and 108 combined tackles.
NFL Network first reported the deal.
A former sixth-round pick, Elliott spent his first four seasons in the league with the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions before joining the Miami Dolphins for one year.
The Steelers signed Elliott as a free agent to a two-year deal before the 2024 season.
He has 395 tackles in 72 career games.
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Tisha Thompson
Ippei Mizuhara, the disgraced former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, is in federal prison in Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told ESPN on Monday.
Mizuhara, 40, was ordered to surrender to federal authorities by Monday. He is in custody at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood Low, a low-security facility, after being sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani.
Mizuhara was initially ordered to report to prison in March, but a federal judge granted the delay. The reasons for the delay remain under seal.
Mizuhara’s attorney declined ESPN’s request for comment, but previously stated that he expects Mizuhara, a Japanese citizen, to eventually be deported.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March 2024 after an ESPN investigation revealed he sent millions in wire transfers from Ohtani’s account to an illegal bookmaker. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June 2024, admitting that he placed about 19,000 bets with the bookie over a two-year period and accumulated over $40 million in debt.
The bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, pleaded guilty in August to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and subscribing a false tax return. He is awaiting sentencing.
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