Penn State facing dual threat in Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett
The pleasant dilemma for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer used to be how to utilize the two star quarterbacks in his offense. The fact that he appears to have finally figured it out may become an unpleasant dilemma for opponents of the nation's No. 1 team.
The pleasant dilemma for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer used to be how to utilize the two star quarterbacks in his offense. The fact that he appears to have finally figured it out may become an unpleasant dilemma for opponents of the nation's No. 1 team.
For the first time Saturday, Meyer employed sophomore J.T. Barrett, the starter for much of last season, when the Buckeyes moved into the red zone, and Barrett responded with three touchdown runs in a 49-28 victory over Maryland.
At the same time, senior Cardale Jones, the hero of last year's national championship run after Barrett sat out with an injury, enjoyed his best game of the season, completing 21 of 28 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. In all, the Buckeyes scored six touchdowns in six trips inside the Terrapins 20.
The two-headed Ohio State quarterback monster enters Saturday night's home game against Penn State with momentum and added confidence for the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who have not been all that impressive this season.
Asked Monday at his weekly news conference if Barrett's role as the red zone quarterback would be permanent, Meyer replied, "I think so, but I'm not writing that in Sharpie yet.
"We'll see how it goes," he said. "I think everyone on our team [is excited] to see him and his energy, and he's a good player. Cardale can certainly run, but when you have that threat like you saw on Saturday, you have to defend that now."
Barrett led Ohio State to an 11-1 record as the 2014 starter before an ankle injury against Michigan sidelined him for the rest of the season. He set two Big Ten records and 17 Ohio State marks, finishing with 3,772 total yards and accounting for 45 touchdowns.
Then Jones came up big as the Buckeyes won three postseason games to surge to the top of the college football world. He has seen the majority of the snaps this season, with a 62.7 percent completion mark, 1,158 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
"For J.T. to be the [starting] quarterback, he's got to beat Cardale out," Meyer said. "There's no anointing. I look at that picture at every position. They have to beat them out. That has not happened."
Meyer said he spoke with both quarterbacks last week about his plans for the Maryland game and that Jones was completely on board.
"I think Cardale continues to grow as a human being, as a young man, as a person I have a lot of respect for," he said. "Maybe that respect wasn't there two years ago because he hadn't earned it. The whole program, there's a tremendous amount of respect for that kid now and the way he's handled this.
"It's very touchy with the two people involved doing it, with the families involved, and I think we're very leery of that," Meyer said of the competition. "But it can't be better to have J.T. Barrett going in and having three touchdowns and see the smile on his face. He's worked so hard. He's always been a leader."
Notes. Ohio State will wear black uniforms for the Ohio Stadium game, which is being dubbed "Dark Night in the Shoe." . . . Big Ten officials said the Oct. 24 game between Penn State and Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore will kick off at 3:30 p.m. TV will be announced next week.
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