After Ohio State's Will Howard completed a downfield pass to Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard gain, essentially clinching the national title for the Buckeyes, the cameras focused on his girlfriend, Lauren Leiker, crying tears of joy among the crowd. crew.
Leiker was surrounded by her boyfriend's parents, Bob and Maureen Howard, all dressed in Buckeye red.
Howard has kept a low profile on his dating dates as a college quarterback, and he and Leiker are rarely photographed together on social media.
The couple has been dating for about two years, as they are shown together during Howard's days as Kansas State quarterback in April 2023.
After Smith's reception, Leiker can be seen leaning on someone else in Howard's inner circle before tears began to flow.
Even with more than two minutes left in the one-possession game, the Fighting Irish had one timeout left for the celebrations to begin before the clock hit all zeros.
Cameras caught Will Howard's girlfriend, Lauren Leiker, crying near the end of the game.
Leiker and Howard have been dating for two years, dating back to their time at Kansas State.
Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State for his final season of college football.
Once the game ended, Leiker headed to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium lawn to meet Howard, who twirled his national championship cap. back to kiss his girlfriend.
After Leiker's reaction, cameras panned to Buckeyes superfan LeBron James in the crowd, high-fiving that his home state university was about to become national champions.
Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State for this season, lifting the national championship just over a year after committing to the Buckeyes.
Howard has already completed his fifth college season, making Monday night his last and only chance to win the national championship.
Leiker will become an NFL WAG next, as Howard is expected to be selected in April's draft, even if he is not considered among the top quarterback prospects this year.