The Ohio State Buckeyes have been able to remain atop the rankings this season despite not having one true starting quarterback. That all changes for the top-ranked team in the country heading into Saturday's game at Rutgers, as head coach Urban Meyer named J.T. Barrett as the starter over Cardale Jones on Tuesday.
Jones will be on the bench on Saturday ready to play if needed. Meyer called it a "difficult decision", but was impressed with Barrett's play last week. Both Barrett and Jones have reasons why they should start, but it seems as if Jones was being based on just three games.
The former third-string QB led the team to the national championship with a win in the Big Ten Title game and both playoff games. Barrett does have a Big Ten Player of the Year award in his back pocket, and a full season trumps three games despite the magnitude of those games.
Barrett also has the individual statistics on his side, including an 83.3 red zone completion percentage, which is 50 points higher than Jones. This number has gone up tremendously the last few weeks with Barrett leading Ohio State to scores on all 12 red zone possessions, 11 of which were touchdowns.
The new Buckeye starter also showed mobility last week, rushing for 102 yards on 11 carries in a win over Penn State. He also went on to throw two TD passes in the fourth quarter after taking over for Jones, who started the game but threw just 9-of-15 for 84 yards.
Jones is expected to play a similar role to what Barrett has played since returning from a broken ankle suffered in the final game of last season. Jones has started all seven games of the season, but it was known that he would not receive all of the playing time. Barrett, on the other hand, is expected to take all of the team's snaps under center beginning this Saturday.
Jones will be on the bench on Saturday ready to play if needed. Meyer called it a "difficult decision", but was impressed with Barrett's play last week. Both Barrett and Jones have reasons why they should start, but it seems as if Jones was being based on just three games.
The former third-string QB led the team to the national championship with a win in the Big Ten Title game and both playoff games. Barrett does have a Big Ten Player of the Year award in his back pocket, and a full season trumps three games despite the magnitude of those games.
Barrett also has the individual statistics on his side, including an 83.3 red zone completion percentage, which is 50 points higher than Jones. This number has gone up tremendously the last few weeks with Barrett leading Ohio State to scores on all 12 red zone possessions, 11 of which were touchdowns.
The new Buckeye starter also showed mobility last week, rushing for 102 yards on 11 carries in a win over Penn State. He also went on to throw two TD passes in the fourth quarter after taking over for Jones, who started the game but threw just 9-of-15 for 84 yards.
Jones is expected to play a similar role to what Barrett has played since returning from a broken ankle suffered in the final game of last season. Jones has started all seven games of the season, but it was known that he would not receive all of the playing time. Barrett, on the other hand, is expected to take all of the team's snaps under center beginning this Saturday.
