Updated Sep 19, 2015 at 11:39p ET COLUMBUS, Ohio — The saying, probably repeated many times but notably around these parts by former head coach John Cooper, goes that if a coach thinks he has two quarterbacks, he probably does not really have one. The general consensus heading into this season, though, was that defending national champion Ohio State is an exception. That’s because while most quarterback competitions involve at least one and often two players who might have great potential but have little experience or record of success, both of the competitors in Columbus can claim having played a major role in a national championship season. But so far neither has been able to prove he deserves to be the starting quarterback, and that could prove to be a problem for the nation’s No. 1-ranked team sooner or later. It nearly was Saturday as the Buckeyes eked out a much-closer-than-expected 20-13 win over Northern Illinois, but one big play from J.T. Barrett and one big play from the defense proved to be enough to overcome multiple mistakes by Cardale Jones and another by Barrett. That may be selling the defense short as the Buckeyes held the Huskies to one touchdown, two field goals and less than 200 total yards, but it could also be asking too much for OSU’s stop troops to bail them out all season, much less when a high-powered Michigan State offense comes to town in late November. Of course that wasn’t supposed to be necessary as an embarrassment of talent is on hand in Columbus, from the offensive line to the backfield to receiver and even tight end. But the winning formulas of last season — which varied from time to time and quarterback to quarterback — have proven to be hard to recreate at so far in 2015. The quarterbacks have only been a part of that, but when a reporter asked if they have struggled in part because of limited playing time, coach Urban Meyer admitted that could be the case in the immediate aftermath of the win over NIU on Saturday. He also held off on making many strong comments before getting to review the film. …
Continue Reading: Ohio State QB quandary continues after neither stands out in close win
