How Much Will Ohio State Run J.T. Barrett Against Michigan?

Urban Meyer won games that way at Bowling Green with Josh Harris. He did it at Utah with Alex Smith, Florida with Tim Tebow and at Ohio State first with Braxton Miller and now with J.T. Barrett. The quarterback run is a weapon in his eyes; it creates an advantage for the offense provided his tailback and receivers can block.

But Meyer shortens the playbook exponentially when the weather is not cooperative or he has little to no confidence in Barrett throwing the ball. He did it this season against Indiana in high winds, last week at Michigan State in snow, wind and cold and also at Wisconsin in an overtime victory.

Those games ended with the Buckeyes on the right side of the scoreboard. Meyer ran Barrett often last season too—using his ability to pick up yards on the ground in victories over Penn State and Michigan. It did not, however, work in the team's lone loss of the season, a 17-14 stunner against Michigan State during a rainstorm.

How much Barrett's legs factor into Ohio State's offensive plan will play a huge role this Saturday against the Wolverines, who this season have been absurdly good at making life miserable for quarterbacks that try to run. The weather shouldn't be a factor but Barrett's history running the ball against Michigan is highly successful. The quarterback ran 24 times for 105 yards in his most recent game, a 17-16 Ohio State win at Michigan State.

“It's kind of a weather—you know, one of those things where we don't normally do it like that,” Meyer said on Monday. “A lot of it is flow of the game.”

The 24 carries against the Spartans are the second-highest for Barrett this season, only behind the 26 he racked up against the Hoosiers for 137 yards and a score in a 38-17 win. Against Michigan last year, Barrett ran 19 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns as he and Ezekiel Elliott ran roughshod over a Michigan front that was hapless to stop them.

Barrett must play well for Ohio State to beat Michigan on Saturday. That is a given. But the Wolverines allow just 108.6 rushing yards per game, so how Meyer and Ed Warinner utilize Barrett's skills as a runner alongside Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel is a delicate balance. Barrett is shifty and faster than people think but must stay healthy for the Buckeyes to have their best chance at winning. Two years ago, he broke his ankle against the Wolverines after he misread a zone-read. Cardale Jones finished the fourth quarter and Ohio State's win by handing the ball to Elliott.

“We like to run J.T. a lot and we can fake a run with him and throw it to Curtis,” center Pat Elflein said. “We’ve got a lot of different things in our offense that allow us to utilize all three of those playmakers and there’s other guys too. Our receivers are playing well, they’re blocking well, which allows for the whole offense to open up.”

Michigan's allowed only two rushing yards per game to quarterbacks through its first 11 contests. Sacks are factored into that ratio and skew the averages but no quarterback has rushed for a touchdown against the Wolverines in 2016. That is impressive.

Michigan's secondary is elite, and plays press man coverage just like Ohio State does. Meyer already said this week his receivers must create separation for Barrett to get them the ball. If they don't, however, spreading them out and trusting his offensive line and edge blockers to create space for Barrett to run is a likely option he will turn to.

“I think our O-line is doing what they need to do, and if our O-line plays well then we have a good day on offense,” Barrett said. “The main thing is that the offense has really opened things up for the guys running and also for me running the ball.”

Therein lies the chess match between two of the brighter minds in the country, Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown and Warinner. Meyer's input is also significant in Ohio State's offense—and to how much Barrett runs the ball.

“You certainly don't go into a game and say, let's do this, but you have to create plus numbers somehow because it's tough,” Meyer said. “You see that with every team that plays in weather. It's just tough.”

Asked after the Michigan State win about how much he ran his quarterback compared to Samuel and Weber (24 carries for Barrett, 18 combined for the others) Meyer said, "that's just the way it goes." It will be interesting to see how it goes against Michigan, a hard-hitting defense eager to show the world it will not be torched by Barrett and Co. again on the ground.

“I think I’m doing my best limiting shots,” Barrett said. “If it’s third down, I’m going to do my best to get the first down, but I think I’ve done a better job of getting down when I need to, and things like that. I’m not going to change because I’ve already kind of been doing that.”

“When you’ve got an athlete at quarterback, you’ll have to chase an athlete with a bunch of athletes. That becomes an important piece of this thing,” Brown said on Wednesday. “Can’t just rely on the front four in the process. Whether it’s run fits, or finding ways to be creative to rush the passer in certain scenarios.”