Ohio State Football: The Key to Saving J.T. Barrett’s Season

What’s the difference between an “OK” performance and a “very good” one?

Sometimes, it’s just one play.

That’s the message Urban Meyer delivered on Monday when discussing J.T. Barrett’s college debut. Ohio State may have beaten Navy by a 34-17 margin in the Buckeyes’ season opener on Saturday, but the one play that seemed to stand out to most was Barrett’s second-quarter red-zone interception—the type of mental mistake that many expected to see from a redshirt freshman in the first start of his college career.

The play clearly clouded Meyer’s opinion of Barrett’s performance, which he admitted was significantly altered by the first-year starter’s lone turnover.

“J.T. did OK,” Meyer said on Monday. “He handled himself very well for his first start. You take away the interception, and I think he did very well.”

And while that’s a more than fair assessment—after all, it was Barrett’s decision that resulted in the interception—it also doesn’t take into account the entirety of the play. Because before Barrett made his opinion-altering throw, he faced—and avoided—significant pressure from the Midshipmen defense before letting go of a pass that landed in the hands of Navy safety Parrish Gaines.

But while the blame for the interception remains with Barrett, that’s not to say that Meyer didn’t also walk away from the Buckeyes’ season opener disappointed with the play of his offensive line. In fact, the third-year Ohio State head coach admitted that…

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