Ohio State quarterback Will Howard sealed his team’s stunning victory in the Rose Bowl with a kiss.

After the 23-year-old Howard and the Buckeyes dominated the Oregon Ducks 41-21 on Wednesday, January 1, the quarterback made his way to his girlfriend, Lauren Leikerfor a hickey.

Howard threw back his brand new Rose Bowl Champions hat and leaned in for the kiss, which was captured on ESPN’s social media. The move was praised by Kelly StaffordWife of the Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Staffordwho wrote on her Instagram story: “Always said it…backwards hat = easy access 👏👏👏”

While Howard keeps his personal life mostly secret, he posted a picture with Leiker via Instagram in April 2023. At the time of the post, Howard was still a quarterback at Kansas State.

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Howard transferred to Ohio State prior to the 2024 season, where he helped lead the Buckeyes to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Ohio State will play Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10, with a trip to the National Championship Game on the line.

Aside from the kiss with his girlfriend, Howard’s postgame celebration was somewhat awkward.

Even though he was the team’s starting quarterback, Rose Bowl officials denied Howard access to the trophy presentation stage.

In a clip shared on social media, Howard was seen asking an official for permission to join his teammates for the postgame meeting.

“That’s the starting quarterback!” Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams pleaded.

Howard seemed to have a good sense of humor about the whole ordeal, laughing as he told people nearby, “They’re blocking me!”

“Guys, there’s apparently a weight limit,” Howard said. He added: “They are literally blocking me.”

Howard was finally able to make his way to the stage, where he handed out celebratory roses to commemorate the big victory.

“We came out and played angry, and I think that showed,” Howard told reporters after the game. “We took an early lead and it was hard for them to come back.”

Howard continued: “We knew they would come back and do something. They are too good a team not to get points. “We knew they would make some kind of comeback. It wasn’t going to be perfect, so we just had to weather the storm and make sure we won the game when it counted.”

The quarterback rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win, a revenge win for the Buckeyes after Oregon beat them 32-31 earlier in the season.

“It’s unbelievable,” Howard told reporters after the game. “A younger me would be amazed, and I just have to take it all in and enjoy it with my boys, and we still have two (games) left, so we’re not done yet.”

Ohio State and Texas will face off in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner will face either Penn State in the National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Georgia on Thursday, January 2nd or the winner of the Sugar Bowl on Monday, January 20th.