COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the one half that he did play on Saturday, J.T. Barrett looked like his old self. Pinpointing passes and taking what the defense gave him on the ground, you would have never known that the Ohio State quarterback was nursing a sprained MCL while leading the Buckeyes to a 55-14 blowout victory over Illinois.
But while Barrett bounced back from his uninspiring outing in Happy Valley last weekend, there’s no telling what that means for next week’s mega matchup with Michigan State. That’s because a large part of the freshman signal-caller’s success on Saturday stemmed from the incompetence of the Fighting Illini, who put up less of a fight than any opponent that the Buckeyes have played so far this year.
That’s saying something when you look at the opponents that Barrett has faced thus far this season, which has seen him light up lesser opponents and struggle against the stouter ones. Against Navy, Kent State, Cincinnati, Maryland, Rutgers and Illinois, Barrett has totaled 1,914 total yards and 24 touchdowns, numbers that at one point placed him in discussion for the Heisman Trophy.
But in Barrett’s only two true tests, he’s been significantly less impressive, completing just nine of 29 pass attempts in Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech and throwing for just 74 yards in last weekend’s double-overtime win against Penn State. And there won’t be a bigger test that Barrett takes this season than next Saturday, heading on the road for a prime-time…
Continue Reading: Can J.T. Barrett Put Struggles Against Good Teams Behind Him vs. Michigan State?
