Ohio St.-Maryland Preview

J.T. Barrett is filling in nicely for Braxton Miller and has played superbly while leading Ohio State to back-to-back wins.

Coach Urban Meyer’s assessment of the defense isn’t anywhere near that.

While Barrett goes for another strong performance under center, the defense may again have its hands full when the No. 20 Buckeyes face Maryland for the first time Saturday in its first Big Ten home game.

Barrett became the starting quarterback after Miller was ruled out for the season due to a shoulder injury sustained in August, leaving the Buckeyes (3-1) without the two-time reigning conference MVP.

While similar accolades aren’t expected, Barrett leads the Big Ten with 13 passing touchdowns – against just five interceptions – to go with another score on the ground.

The red-shirt freshman has been particularly impressive over the past two games, completing 49 of 66 passes for 642 yards with 10 TDs and one pick after hitting 21 of 44 attempts for 445 yards with three scores and four INTs in the first two games.

“J.T. continues to be a very good distributor, completing a high percentage of his balls,” Meyer said. “We’re giving him more and more responsibility about getting us in the right play, which is a big part of what the quarterback’s expected to do.”

Barrett certainly lived up to expectations last Saturday, compiling a season-high 330 yards with four touchdowns while connecting on 26 of 36 passes in a 50-28 win over Cincinnati. He added a season-high 79 yards on 14 carries and ranks second on the team with 205 rushing yards.

Barrett’s recent success has also led to questions about next season, when Miller is expected to return for his final year of eligibility.

“Braxton is our quarterback,” Meyer said. “To be fair to Braxton, Big Ten Player of the Year. Good to know we’ve got both of them.”

Meyer’s immediate concern is the defense, which has allowed at least 324 yards in three of four games after surrendering a season-high 422 to the Bearcats with 352 coming through the air, including touchdowns of 83, 78, 60 and 19 yards.

“I hear someone say, ‘Just take away those four plays …'” Meyer said. “But you can’t just take away those four plays. That’s part of the game.

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