Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State QB quandary continues after neither stands out in close win

Published Sep. 19, 2015 10:27 p.m. ET

Marcus Hartman

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The saying, probably repeated many times but notably around these parts by former head coach John Cooper, goes that if a coach thinks he has two quarterbacks, he probably does not really have one.

The general consensus heading into this season, though, was that defending national champion Ohio State is an exception.

That's because while most quarterback competitions involve at least one and often two players who might have great potential but have little experience or record of success, both of the competitors in Columbus can claim having played a major role in a national championship season.

But so far neither has been able to prove he deserves to be the starting quarterback, and that could prove to be a problem for the nation's No. 1-ranked team sooner or later.

It nearly was Saturday as the Buckeyes eked out a much-closer-than-expected 20-13 win over Northern Illinois, but one big play from J.T. Barrett and one big play from the defense proved to be enough to overcome multiple mistakes by Cardale Jones and another by Barrett.

That may be selling the defense short as the Buckeyes held the Huskies to one touchdown, two field goals and less than 200 total yards, but it could also be asking too much for OSU's stop troops to bail them out all season, much less when a high-powered Michigan State offense comes to town in late November.

Of course that wasn't supposed to be necessary as an embarrassment of talent is on hand in Columbus, from the offensive line to the backfield to receiver and even tight end.

But the winning formulas of last season -- which varied from time to time and quarterback to quarterback -- have proven to be hard to recreate at so far in 2015.

The quarterbacks have only been a part of that, but when a reporter asked if they have struggled in part because of limited playing time, coach Urban Meyer admitted that could be the case in the immediate aftermath of the win over NIU on Saturday.

He also held off on making many strong comments before getting to review the film.

"I'm not prepared to tell you right yet," he said when asked about the role of the quarterbacks in offense's struggles. "I'll give you a little bit more insight next week."

He also admitted he did not know who his starter is as of Saturday evening after having said the previous Monday it was Jones.

He added then that Barrett would still get opportunities to beat out Jones, who finished last season as the starter after Barrett suffered a broken leg.

That came in the second quarter Saturday after Jones' second interception of the day, one that Meyer attributed to a misread of coverage.

Barrett entered to big cheers but his first series ended in a three-and-out. He closed the next drive with a touchdown pass on which receiver Michael Thomas made an acrobatic catch in the end zone, but that was as good as it got for the reserve quarterback on the day. He finished 11 for 19 passing for 97 yards and a touchdown as well as an interception. He also had another potential pick go through the hands of a defender in the end zone.

Jones was 4 for 9 for 36 yards with two interceptions.

Which leaves Ohio State still unbeaten but also unsure of where to go next.

Fortunately, their much-talked about lack of heavyweights on the schedule before the aforementioned Spartans gives them time to work things out, but the assumption that will happen seemed less safe after the escape against the Huskies than it did in the preseason.