Three games into the season and the Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback situation remains a tenuous one at best.
Despite a 20-13 victory over defending MAC champion Northern Illinois to move to 3-0 on the season, both Cardale Jones and JT Barrett were less than impressive. The two Buckeye signal callers struggled mightily in an error-filled day that included just about everything. Whether it was turnovers, fumbled snaps, inaccurate throws, it was a day to forget.
Jones made his third consecutive start for the Scarlet and Gray. In challenging windy and rainy conditions that marked the start of the game, he immediately had issues. That became apparent on his second pass of the game, which was intercepted by Huskies defensive back Shawun Lurry and returned 33 yards to the OSU 22-yard line.
NIU wide receiver Aregeros Turner would score on a five-yard run play a few plays later.
After throwing another pick to Lurry later in the quarter, Jones was replaced by Barrett and didn’t see the field for the rest of the game. His final stats: four completed passes, 44.4 percent completion percentage, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Though Barrett did make a phenomenal touchdown throw to Michael Thomas in the second quarter, his day was almost as forgettable as Jones’ in the long run. That became apparent midway through the third quarter when he threw an inexcusable interception which belies the poise he showed in leading the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship game last season.
Barrett was looking for tight end Nick Vannett on a crossing route but failed to read NIU linebacker Sean Folliard dropping into zone coverage who jumped the route. What was particularly maddening about the pick was the fact Ohio State had just crossed into Huskie territory looking to add to a 13-10 lead. Suddenly the old adage “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none” seemed to garner an increasing legitimacy, even with this talented tandem who played their own unique part in winning a national title last season.
One play later, though, the Buckeye defense would bail Barrett out and prove how elite it has been a quarter of the way through the season. Huskie quarterback Drew Hare, who had been kept in check for most of the game, looked to throw a quick screen out left, only to find OSU linebacker Darron Lee. The sophomore would take it 41 yards to the house and the pick six would prove to be the difference in the seven-point win for the Bucks.
Barrett’s final statistics weren’t much of an improvement over Jones, especially considering he was in the game for three quarters. In fact, if you triple Jones pass numbers you get 108 yards. Barrett just had 97, added a touchdown and an interception, and though his completion percentage wasn’t terrible at 57.9 percent, his 5.1 yards per completion was.
Once again, the Buckeye defense shut down an opposing quarterback’s ability to make plays down the field. Such an effort likely prevented catastrophe. Not only did they force Hare into two interceptions, but they made it nearly impossible for the Huskies to get any substantial yardage after the catch. Perhaps nowhere was this more evident in the fact the NIU receivers were held to just 2.3 yards per completion.
Hare’s 80 yards passing means that for the second straight game, Ohio State has held a quarterback under 100 yards through the air. This after handing Hawai’i its first sub-100 yard passing performance in 16 years.
The defensive front played their part as well. Defensive ends Joey Bosa and Tyquan Lewis along with tackle Adolphus Washington continued to make Hare and the Huskie backfield uncomfortable. In total, the three combined for 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss that knocked NIU back 46 yards.
However, the big-picture theme coming out of this game is how shockingly sloppy the offense looked throughout the entirety of the game. It wasn’t just an issue of starting out bad and slowly working out the kinks. Even in the fourth quarter, when the Buckeyes had a chance to close things out with a score, Curtis Samuel fumbled the ball, enabling Northern Illinois to potentially tie (or win with a two-point conversion) if they could drive down the field and find the end zone.
Thankfully, the defense did their part and made one last stand.
All in all, the OSU offense committed five turnovers when you add in the fumble by Samuel and another one by Ezekiel Elliott early on. Neither Jones nor Barrett impressed on the day, though it must be said the latter showed more flashes, especially with the touchdown pass to Thomas. Going forward, head coach Urban Meyer has a decision to make as regards his starting signal caller.
The Ohio State quarterback position needs an infusion of certainty more than anything right now. If Barrett can rekindle his form from last season, they’ll definitely get that and then some. It’s time to give him a chance once more.
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