Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett?
It's the question that's been asked hundreds of times since Ohio State won the national championship last January. Three weeks into the season, we still don't have an answer.
Jones appeared to have won the job when he started the Buckeyes' season-opener at Virginia Tech. But he also started Ohio State's games against Hawai'i and Northern Illinois and was replaced by Barrett early on in both.
Head coach Urban Meyer said following that narrow 20-13 win over the Huskies on Saturday he didn't know who his starting quarterback would be when the Buckeyes take on Western Michigan on Saturday. Tuesday afternoon on the Big Ten coaches weekly teleconference, he hinted he finally does have an idea.
“Yes, I am, but I’m going to wait to let you know," Meyer said.
Meyer is scheduled to meet with the media again Wednesday after practice and the Buckeyes' coach hinted he would name a starter then, but added, "That's not a high priority, obviously."
Meyer has stated numerous times he thought he made it very clear Jones was the starter, but because Barrett is also a quality player and because of Jones' struggles, he's had a bit of a quick hook.
“I did have a very clear starter, the guy that starts. In the first three games, we have had one," Meyer said. "The first game worked out very good, the second game not so good and the third game was not good at all. We did have a very clear starter and we’re going to have a very clear starter again this week. I kind of already know who it is.”
It's possible we'll find out Wednesday if it will be Jones or Barrett starting this weekend for the Buckeyes, but waiting until Saturday certainly isn't out of the question.
Additional Meyer notes:
- Meyer challenged his wide receivers and attributed the poor quarterback play partially to that group not playing very well. "They have not performed well," Meyer said. "Mike Thomas has played pretty well, but we’ve gotta play much better. There’s gonna be a high, high emphasis on that this week."
- Meyer also said running back Ezekiel Elliott's lack of big plays in the running game have been because of poor performances by the offensive line and the wide receivers blocking on the perimeter. “We know exactly why: We’re not controlling the line of scrimmage and when we do we’re not perimeter blocking like we normally do," Meyer said. "That’s already been addressed and I would anticipate we’ll be much better.”
- Meyer said coaching on defense and special teams has been very good so far. Offense? Not so much. "Offensively, I wouldn’t grade us champion effort and on defense I would; I think we’re playing at an extremely high level on defense," Meyer said. "Confident, well-coached, fundamentally sound, excellent tackling. On special teams, our coverage units are outstanding.
- Meyer said he anticipates to continue to see teams play an odd, 3-4 front against Ohio State until it proves it can beat it, much like the Buckeyes saw that Bear, Cover 0 defense one year ago. “Until we hurt it, yeah. That’s typical," Meyer said. "Last year it was that Bear 0 so we put a good scheme together and this seems to be some 3-4 stuff that is just affecting our team so we’re working hard at it.”
The Big Ten went 10-4 in Week 3 games. This weekend's matchups are highlighted by Saturday's game between BYU and Michigan. You can also watch Kansas play Rutgers if you like really, really bad football.
In addition to Meyer, the league's other 13 coaches joined the Big Ten teleconference Tuesday for their weekly obligations. Check out some highlights of what each had to say below.
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern):
- "We're a team that's working hard to improve. We haven't really played a game with three, clean phases of football."
- Fitzgerald on his defense being a product of so many young guys playing for Northwestern last year: "I really think it is."
- On the targeting rule, Fitzgerald says he teaches his team to tackle like a strike zone in baseball, "from above the knees to the chest."
- When asked about how often Northwestern practices hail mary defense, Fitzgerald said "at a minimum every Thursday" and then proceeded to quote a line from the movie Tommy Boy.
Jim Harbaugh (Michigan):
- Harbaugh on Michigan's secondary: "I feel like our secondary is coming together. We're definitely getting our hands on more balls, getting more PBUs. ... But we're gonna need to be better because BYU is very proficient in the passing game."
- Harbaugh said in recruiting, he evaluates everything when it comes to a player: "highly-motivated, love of the game, important for them to be successful."
- Harbaugh on running back Ty Isaac: "He's hungry, wants to do well. Good for our team."
- On BYU quarterback Tanner Magnum: "He's been really impressive. He's been in some situations that take some quarterbacks years before they're in the situations that he's been in to have success. ... It's profound, the job he's done."
Paul Chryst (Wisconsin):
- Chryst on running backs Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal: "We've missed Corey, but I think Dare and Taiwan have taken advantage of these opportunities. I think they're both finding their style."
- Chryst went on to add he's not sure if running back Corey Clement will play Saturday.
Mike Riley (Nebraska):
- "We are coming off another disappointing loss."
- Riley on quarterback Tommy Armstrong: "I think Tommy has really made a ton of progress. I was really proud of him in the last ball game."
Mark Dantonio (Michigan State):
- Dantonio on the targeting rule: "I think that there are some gray areas, but people do the very best that they can to coach these rules."
- Dantonio on wide receiver Aaron Burbridge: "He's always been a very, very good player, but sometimes it just takes opportunities. ... We've had playmakers at that position, but he's just getting more opportunities now."
- On Michigan State's defense, Datonio said, "We compete, we've had some fourth-down stands, some short-yardage stands. We're coming up with turnovers. What you don't like to see anytime is missed tackles."
Kirk Ferentz (Iowa):
- Ferentz on Iowa's game-winning field goal last weekend: "It's one thing to make that field goal in practice, it's another thing to make that in that environment."
- Ferentz on quarterback C.J. Beathard: "The thing that stands out more than anything to me is his poise."
- On Iowa's opponent this weekend, North Texas, Ferentz said, "It's a tough preparation for us because they've changed a bit on what they're doing defensively."
Jerry Kill (Minnesota):
- When asked about issues at quarterback, Kill deferred to the problems with his offensive line, saying, "We're not executing up front and that's probably the biggest problem we have."
- Kill said he's very good friends with Ohio head coach Frank Solich, who the Golden Gophers will host this weekend.
Norries Wilson (Rutgers):
- On the upcoming barnburner with Kansas, Wilson said, "They had a bye to prepare for us so they're probably ahead in their preparation than we are."
- Wilson on preparations for Kanas: "We have to make sure we keep it clean up front and win the line of scrimmage."
- On trying to keep a sense of normalcy around the program, Wilson said, "It's normal through the week. Coach Flood is here every day for the day-to-day, he's just not here on game day."
Bill Cubit (Illinois):
- Cubit on Illinois' loss to North Carolina last weekend: "Things just kind of got away from us and snowballed there in the third quarter."
- Cubit went on to add, "Our depth is not great and they kind of wore us down a bit."
Randy Edsall (Maryland):
- Edsall on the targeting rule: "I understand that it's a player safety issue. ... We just have to keep talking about it and keep telling them because we want what's best for the players and what is safe for them."
- Edsall on recruiting: "You have to look at the character and the work ethic of a player that fits into what we’re doing here and what we believe."
Darrell Hazell (Purdue):
- Hazell on Purdue's loss to Virginia Tech: "Didn't handle the pressure in the third quarter and then it got away from us pretty quickly."
- Hazell on the switch to David Blough at quarterback: "The No. 1 goal for our football team is to not turn the ball over and we've done that too many times in the first three weeks and we decided we needed to make a change there."
- More on Purdue's switch at quarterback: "You have a couple guys who competed very hard in fall camp and it was very close coming out of fall camp."
James Franklin (Penn State):
- Franklin said in recruiting he definitely uses caution when a prospect de-commits from a program before he targets a player. Said if a player has de-committed twice, it may be a bit of a "red flag."
- Franklin: "I think we're starting to see an identity of our team."
Kevin Wilson (Indiana):
- On quarterback Nate Sudfeld, Wilson said, "I don't know if we've got one group or a guy that's tremendously the best at anything, but when we work together collectively offensively we've been pretty good. Nate's played well, but he's getting a lot of support from his teammates."
