By JON SAWYER
COLUMBUS, OH. – With under three minutes to go in the game, the Buckeyes were down 38-33 with the ball. But, senior quarterback J.T. Barrett moved the Buckeyes right down the field.
“I was, like, J, just put it over the linebacker and we score,” Barrett said about finding senior tight end Marcus Baugh for the game winning touchdown. “He was getting depth. I think he saw me looking at him, and I was able to put it in a good spot. And Marcus made a great catch.”
Barrett finished the game with 328 yards passing and four touchdowns and 95 yards rushing. Not only did he lead his team to a rivalry win, but he put himself into the Heisman race.
“I don’t really focus on it. Next week we’ve got to go beat Iowa. That’s what I’ll go focus on,” he said.
To start the season, the Buckeyes looked as they would have a “rebuilding season,” but over the past couple weeks they have come alive to show they are one of the top teams in the nation.
Barrett said he sees himself in a great spot right now and doesn’t focus on the negativity.
“I mean, everybody has a right to their own opinion,” Barrett said. “And so that’s something that doesn’t affect me. But right now I think I just am thankful and thanking God how blessed I am to be in the position I am.”
Head coach Urban Meyer has seen this leadership in Barrett since day one as a Buckeye.
“I heard about this J.T. Barrett guy, and he came on as a redshirt freshman. And he wasn’t tall enough, wasn’t this or that. But he’s tough as a lion and he has an incredible skill to lead others.”
When Barrett was going through his struggles, there wasn’t any talk of him being benched or going down hill, it was a conversation about, “what do we have to do to get better?” Meyer said.
“The quarterback, deservedly so, gets far too much credit, far too much blame,” Meyer said. “Like he’s getting a lot of credit tonight, but those receivers played their tails off for him.”
Barrett learned from his coach that being a leader is like choosing the right golf clubs.
“Like in golf. Like you have different ways to go about certain situations. So you just can’t come across one way. And that kind of stuck with me,” Barrett said.
Barrett has thrown only one interception this season, which came during the Buckeyes loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, and since then he has averaged three touchdowns per game and 280 yards passing.
With the win the Buckeyes have jumped up to the third spot in the rankings, right behind the Georgia Bulldogs, who slaughtered the Florida Gators this past weekend 42-7, and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Buckeyes will head to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Leave a Reply