Ohio State fans remember what Cardale Jones did in relief for J.T. Barrett in 2014. This year, Haskins adds his name to heroic QB performances in relief for an injured starting quarterback.
The numbers are unremarkable and no one would confuse them for O'Brien Award numbers. The 94 passing yards are 82 yards shy of what Barrett had in 2014 after completing 13 passes on 21 attempts. Barrett may have had the better overall game in 2015 after considering his 139 rushing yards. Still, Haskins' 94 yards on 6/7 passing was good enough for a QB rating of 198.5. That's comfortably the best QB rating by an Ohio State quarterback in the past four years.
Further, Haskins performance in relief was far more important than Cardale Jones' brief appearance in the Michigan game in 2014. Therein, Ohio State won the game on the back of an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run on 4th and 1. The Buckeyes were up a touchdown and needed to ice it.
| Year | QB | Attempts | Completions | Pass Yds | QB Rating | TD/INT | Rush Yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | J.T. Barrett | 21 | 13 | 176 | 148.02 | 1/0 | 89 |
| 2014 | Cardale Jones | 3 | 2 | 7 | 86.27 | 0/0 | 18 |
| 2015 | J.T. Barrett | 15 | 9 | 113 | 145.28 | 1/0 | 139 |
| 2016 | J.T. Barrett | 32 | 15 | 124 | 73.18 | 0/1 | 125 |
| 2017 | J.T. Barrett | 8 | 3 | 30 | 110.3 | 1/0 | 67 |
| 2017 | Dwayne Haskins | 7 | 6 | 94 | 198.5 | 0/0 | 24 |
Here, Haskins needed to lead a comeback with Michigan up 20-14 in the third quarter. His 6/7 passing against Michigan came with several clutch third-down conversions, including this conversion to Austin Mack that became the pivotal moment in the contest. That helped Ohio State overcome the second-half deficit and eventually survive against Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Time will tell if Barrett is able to play next week against Wisconsin, and how well Haskins performs in what might be his first career start next week in the Big Ten Championship Game. His legacy is already off to a sterling start after this afternoon.
