#2 Ohio State 30, #8 Wisconsin 23
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MADISON, Wisc. — J.T. Barrett was far from perfect Saturday night. Urban Meyer said as much following his team’s 30-23 overtime victory. Barrett misfired on a few passes when wide receivers were open and he threw a critical interception when Ohio State was driving early in the third quarter as it attempted to get back into the game against Wisconsin following a less-than-impressive first half.
He made plays, too, and plenty of them. He even broke a school record. But Barrett did not play his best game for the Buckeyes in this matchup of top-10 teams.
Yet when Meyer strolled out for his postgame press conference, he wanted it to be very clear how he felt about his starting quarterback.
“J.T. Barrett was not outstanding, but he’s one of the toughest cats I’ve ever been around,” he said. “I know who I want behind center in these kinds of environments and that’s J.T. Barrett.”
That’s because Barrett did what he usually does at the end of games. He guided Ohio State to a win in a game in which it was outplayed — at least for the first half.
With Ohio State trailing 16-13 in the fourth quarter, Barrett led the Buckeyes on a quick and efficient 38-yard touchdown drive to give them their first lead of the game. When Wisconsin responded with a touchdown of its own to regain control, Barrett again answered as he guided a nine-play, 61-yard drive that resulted in a game-tying field goal. His 43-yard strike to Dontre Wilson down the sideline to help set up that field goal was a thing of beauty.
When the game got to overtime and Ohio State began the extra period on offense, the Buckeyes were faced with a 3rd-and-2 on the Wisconsin 7-yard line. Everybody in the stadium thought a run was coming. Everybody watching at home probably thought the same.
Barrett took the snap out of the shotgun, however, and delivered a bullet to the corner of the end zone. Noah Brown snagged it for the go-ahead touchdown, and Ohio State’s defense held to earn the win.
“It’s just understanding that we’ve got some tough guys, we’ve got some grinders all over the place,” Barrett said afterward. “Understanding that this is the time where we’ve got to show it. We talk a lot about being tough, having your brother’s back, love your unit, all these different things, but at the end of the day, it’s gotta come up and it’s gotta show through your play."
“I think that it did.”
Barrett’s final stat line read 17-for-29 passing for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had 92 rushing yards on 21 carries with two additional scores.
But with Barrett, it’s becoming more and more apparent that sometimes you can just throw out the box score. He finds ways to win football games and when Ohio State needed him most Saturday night, the redshirt junior signal caller delivered.
“He’s our leader out there,” Buckeyes H-back Curtis Samuel said. “He’s going to get us in the right situations whether it’s running the ball or passing the ball. He slows things down and he’s just going to put us in the best situations to make the best plays out there every time.”
The Buckeyes improved to 6-0 on Saturday night thanks to their overtime victory over a top-10 team on the road. Meyer declared it “a real one” and said the atmosphere at Camp Randall Stadium was “a top-fiver.”
Ohio State was victorious because of its quarterback.
J.T. Barrett was far from perfect in this win against Wisconsin, but sometimes J.T. Barrett’s pretty good is better than anything the other team can handle.
“You look at some of the quarterbacks that I’ve been blessed to coach, that I’ve been around, and I know in that situation that’s who I want in there,” Meyer said. “He didn’t play his best game and when he does, it’s incredible, but the absolute test of a leader is to raise the level of play of those around him.”
“He’s surrounded by a bunch of guys who were newbies this year and now they’re not,” Meyer continued. “We have a true freshman playing left guard and it’s the quarterback’s responsibility to pick up his level of play. That’s what makes J.T. so special.”
