Published: Tuesday, 10/13/2015 – Updated: 1 minute ago BY DAVID BRIGGSBLADE SPORTS WRITER COLUMBUS — A two-quarterback system with a setup man and a closer. All-black uniforms. What’s next at Ohio State? A game on Mars? With the top-ranked Buckeyes dressed head to toe in black, their strange but riveting season will continue Saturday night at Ohio Stadium with two lead characters at quarterback. After a successful trial run in top-ranked Buckeyes’ 49-28 win against Maryland last weekend, coach Urban Meyer said he is sticking with Cardale Jones as the starter and the more mobile J.T. Barrett as the red-zone specialist against Penn State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) — and maybe for much longer. Is the dual arrangement permanent? “I think so,” Meyer said on Monday. “But I’m not writing it in Sharpie yet. We’ll see how it goes.” The Buckeyes’ two-headed creation will now be put to a bigger test on Saturday. It is one thing to breeze past a team that could not stop a Maryland roster of scarecrows and another to knife through a Penn State defense ranked 10th nationally, allowing 275.7 yards per game. Ohio State needed two overtimes to beat the Nittany Lions 31-24 in Happy Valley last year. But Meyer thinks the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0) are on to something, exploiting Jones’ potent, field-stretching arm to set the table for the dual-threat Barrett, whose more precise passing and ability in the option run game come in handy when space is tighter. Meyer made them co-players of the game against Maryland. Jones completed 21 of 28 passes for a career-high 291 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers while Barrett ran for three scores, proving — for one day — a cure-all for the Buckeyes’ demons in the red zone. After scoring touchdowns on only 6 of 16 trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line in the first five weeks, they punched in all six of their forays against the Terrapins. …
Continue Reading: Buckeyes find balance
