The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
To think some wanted Barrett benched
For the better part of six weeks, critics have questioned Barrett’s continued inclusion in the OSU offense.
It’s amazing how perceptions change in a matter of six weeks.
On a balmy Sept. 9 evening in Ohio Stadium, fans were calling for the head of Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett and begging for freshman Dwayne Haskins to get his shot at piloting a struggling Buckeyes offense that had just lost a 31-16 game to visiting Oklahoma.
Make the change now, critics said, before the season is lost.
For the better part of six weeks, those critics have questioned Barrett’s continued inclusion in the Ohio State offense.
On a chilly Oct. 28 evening at Ohio Stadium, the fifth-year senior provided the answer to their question.
This was J.T. Barrett’s team, it remains J.T. Barrett’s team and it will continue to be J.T. Barrett’s team.
Barrett completed 33 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns, leading No. 6 Ohio State to a 39-38 win over No. 2 Penn State.
Add in the 95 yards rushing Barrett had, and the guy who many Buckeye fans wanted to ship back to his home in Wichita Falls, Texas, after the Oklahoma game, accounted for 423 of his team’s 529 yards.
On the flipside, Penn State Heisman hopeful Saquon Barkley was held to 21 carries for 44 yards and nearly had as many negative-yards rushing (36) as he had positive (44) — though he did have a kickoff return for a touchdown to start the game.
“I think the H-word is appropriate after today’s game,” Coach Urban Meyer said of the Heisman Trophy race many figured Barrett buried with his performance against Oklahoma. “It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen a quarterback play.” How good was Barrett? He was near flawless, and it goes well beyond the program record 423 yards of total offense he accrued, surpassing the former record of yards in a game set in 1981 by Art Schlicter (412) against Florida State.
Barrett was a star, especially when his team needed it most in the second half of the game.
Barrett was a perfect 13-for-13 for 170 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He also completed his final three passes of the third quarter, giving him 16 straight completions to end the game.
His mastery of the clock late in the game was uncanny.
Ohio State trailing, 3827, late in the fourth, Barrett drove OSU down the field for a drive that took only 75 seconds off the clock, narrowing the margin to 38-33.
After a three-and-out by Penn State’s offense, which did nothing against Ohio State most of the afternoon, OSU got the ball back with 3:07 left on the clock and one timeout.
After a two-yard run by Michael Weber to start the drive, Barrett completed four straight passes, including:
• A 20-yard pass to Terry McLaurin where he got hammered by a defender as soon as the ball left his hand.
• A checkdown to K.J. Hill for a six-yard gain.
• A pass to Hill that hit him in stride on a crossing pattern for a 15-yard gain down to the 15.
• And then a 15-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Baugh over top of a linebacker and in between defensive backs on each side.
Those were veteran throws made by a guy who had been there before.
That is why J.T. Barrett
was and will continue to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
“I think there’s a point all of us in our lives that you’ll read something, you’ll say, ‘What is that?’” Meyer said of the catcalls for Barrett’s job. “But he’s a professional. He’s a college athlete. He’s a pro.”
In the six games since the loss to Oklahoma, Barrett has completed 75 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 22 touchdowns, run for four and had yet to throw an interception in the past six games.
He has accounted for 2,006 yards offense over that span.
With the win over Penn State, Ohio State is back in control of its destiny both for a Big Ten East Division championship and a Big Ten championship game berth.
Ohio state needs win out, a road game at Iowa and home games against Michigan State and Illinois leading to the regular-season finale at Michigan.
The Buckeyes also put themselves back in the conversation for a final four playoff berth should they win out.
A major reason for the Buckeyes being in their current position is the guy who has worn No. 16 on his jersey for the past five years.
The many wanted sent to the bench six weeks ago.
J.T. Barrett.
Kampf can be reached via email at JKampf@NewsHerald.com; On Twitter @JKBuckeyes