Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett made history on Saturday.
By running for his 105th career touchdown and passing for his 106th and 107th in the Buckeyes’ 38-7 win against Army, Barrett broke former Purdue and current New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ record for the most touchdowns in Big Ten history.
That’s just the latest in a long line of records for Barrett, who broke Ohio State’s school record for total offense in the Buckeyes’ season opener at Indiana and came into his senior season already holding a myriad of school records, including all-time Ohio State marks in passing touchdowns and pass completions, among others. After throwing for 270 yards on Saturday, he’s now just 409 yards away from Art Schlichter’s school record for passing yards.
As a result of his lengthy career as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Barrett has had the opportunity to rewrite the record books not only at OSU but now also for the entire Big Ten. He says that’s a "tremendous honor." But it’s also something he didn’t set specifically out to do when he came to Ohio State.
"I never thought about it honestly," Barrett said of breaking records. "I go back to, coming from Wichita Falls, a little city on the map and I just want to come out here and win a lot of football games, and be around a great group of people doing it. This is something that came along the way as far as the records being broken."
While Barrett’s focus was on leading the Buckeyes to a win rather than breaking a record, accomplishing both feats on Saturday led Barrett to reminisce on some of the former Ohio State players and coaches who helped him to get to where he is now.
"I think it’s just credit to all the people involved," Barrett said of the record. "I think back to times with (former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom) Herman back in the day, all the guys as far as helped me get it as far as Devin Smith, tight ends Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson. Everybody that was a part of my time here, and has believed in me as far as the coaches."
Urban Meyer, who has been Ohio State’s coach through Barrett’s career as a Buckeye, expressed his appreciation for Barrett’s record-breaking performance before taking any questions at his postgame press conference Saturday.
"I've known about the Big Ten Conference for probably 40-some years, and of all the great players that have played here, to say you're the No. 1 touchdown maker in the history of the Big Ten Conference, that's awesome," Meyer said. "That's something that – that's going to be a hard one to break. He's got a lot of games left. Much credit to him and I appreciate him."
While Saturday was a celebratory day for Barrett, it was the complete opposite last Saturday, when Barrett failed to account for a single touchdown in Ohio State’s 31-16 loss to Oklahoma. Barrett’s poor performance against the Sooners, in which he completed just 10 of his first 21 passes for 84 yards, had critics from outside the program suggesting that the Buckeyes should make a quarterback change (and many of them still are).
Barrett says he has seen the criticism, but he’s tried not to take it to heart, instead focusing on how to continue improving and get the Buckeyes back to where they want to be.
"I think that people have a right to their opinion. I think that’s part of our great country, freedom of speech. But they really don’t know all the inner workings that are involved in every single game plan, every single game, even going down to every single play," Barrett said. "They’re kind of speaking things based off what they see or hear, which is fine, but I’m just saying that they don’t know all the inner workings that we have going on. So I’m just focused on our team, understanding that it’s a process."
Where Ohio State wants to be is contending for a championship, which means the Buckeyes likely need to win the rest of their regular-season games in order to earn a College Football Playoff berth. Buckeyes linebacker Jerome Baker, however, said he and his team are trying not to look at it that way.
"You just got to go every week 1-0," Baker said. "Coach Meyer, that was his thing this week is, the season just started this week. So win this week, we’re 1-0."
Although Ohio State fans were disappointed by the loss to Oklahoma, Buckeyes faithful still came out in force for Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium, with an announced attendance of 108,414 people. And Meyer said that turnout motivated he and his team to bounce back as much as anything else.
"108,000 people showed up after a tough loss a week ago. I can't speak for everybody, but what drives me and drives a lot of our players and our coaching staff is not wanting to let Buckeye Nation down," Meyer said. "So, from our heart, thank you for your support again."
One of the special moments for Ohio State and its fans after each game is the traditional singing of the school’s alma mater, Carmen Ohio. It’s atypical for the opposing team to join the Buckeyes in that ritual, but that’s exactly what Army did after Saturday’s game. Ohio State wide receiver Parris Campbell said the class of that gesture was not lost on he and his teammates.
"It kind of gave me chills," Campbell said. "It comes down to a respect thing. Knowing what they do for us – you go to sleep knowing guys like that are protecting your country. So it was an incredible moment."
Army’s class in defeat extended to its postgame press conference, where Army coach Jeff Monken said the Black Knights "lost to a really good football team."
"That was a talented, tough, physical football team," Monken said. "I’m incredibly proud of our team and the fact that we fought and put in tremendous effort all the way through. We just kept playing, playing as hard as we could. That’s what we ask our guys to do."
