STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — At times Saturday, Ohio State's redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett looked like exactly that — a redshirt freshman.
With Ohio State leading 17-0 at halftime, Barrett threw two second-half interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown — as the Buckeyes were completely shut out against Penn State.
But when the game got to overtime, Barrett took command of Ohio State's offense, scoring both Buckeye touchdowns on runs of 4 and 5 yards.
“When you see the way that kid’s raised, he’s a tough guy, man," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said following the game. "Just does things right and usually people who do things right get rewarded.”
Barrett, who suffered a sprained knee in the second quarter, didn't play his best game. He was only 12-for-19 passing for 74 yards and a touchdown with the two picks. He looked rattled at times as he was under heavy pressure from Penn State's defense.
He wasn't as bad as he was against Virginia Tech but he wasn't nearly as great as he had been in the Buckeyes' previous four wins prior to Saturday night. In all reality, he was just OK.
But in the end, Barrett led an Ohio State team looking for a Big Ten championship to a much-needed win.
“Just finding a way. Anything you’ve gotta do to win the game," Barrett said. "It wasn’t just me, it was the whole offense as a unit just looking each other like, ‘Hey, we haven’t been playing very well. Let’s go finish it.’”
Concerns Remain on Offensive Line
For the first time since the Virginia Tech loss, Ohio State's offense played against a team with talent on the defensive side of the ball.
Penn State was able to apply pressure to Barrett all night. The Nittany Lions only had three sacks in the game, but the constant chaos around Barrett only allowed him to complete 12 of his 19 passes for just 74 yards.
“Credit to our opponent, they played their tails off. They outplayed us up front, I think," Meyer said. "Just upset with the way we played up front and we’ve gotta get that fixed. It’s always been a strength of Ohio State football and it has been for quite a while.”
Going forward, the offensive line is a major concern for the Buckeyes being that the only two above-average defenses they've played all year have had success disrupting their offense.
Handling the Noise
Penn State's annual "White Out" game is notorious for being one of the best environments in all of college football.
Saturday was no different.
Beaver Stadium was rocking from an hour before kickoff all the way through the final whistle as Penn State fans were doing everything they could to distract Ohio State.
“I actually pulled my ear off a couple times to hear it. It can’t get louder," Meyer said. "To nut it up and get it done like that, they did a nice job.”
It was important for Ohio State to get this experience, though, with a trip to East Lansing looming in two weeks.
Spartan Stadium won't be as loud as Saturday night in Happy Valley was, but when the Buckeyes take on Michigan State on Nov. 8, you won't exactly be able to hear a pin drop.
Getting the experience of playing in front of a hostile crowd like Beaver Stadium should certainly help when that games rolls around.
