It wasn’t the start either J.T. Barrett or Ohio State hoped to have, but, suffice to say, the redshirt junior found a way to very loudly bounce back.
The quarterback’s second pass of the season was intercepted by Bowling Green’s Brandon Harris and returned 63 yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons an early 7-0 lead in Columbus. After that, and with the exception of another pass that should’ve been picked and could’ve been another Pick Six, it was all Barrett.
Barrett, who inexplicably lost his starting job to Cardale Jones last season before rightfully regaining it, tossed four first-half touchdown passes in helping to lead the Buckeyes to a 35-7 halftime lead over the MAC school. All four of those touchdowns went to four different receivers, and it marked the fifth four-touchdown game of his career. That breaks the school record previously held by Troy Smith.
Barrett also added a late touchdown run to push the lead out to four touchdowns.Seeing a lot of this today in Columbus. pic.twitter.com/LrbGwS8Egv
(via @OhioStateOnBTN)
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) September 3, 2016
In addition to the touchdowns, Barrett also passed for 244 yards in completing 66 percent of his 21 pass attempts. Barrett also added 30 yards on six carries for good measure as well.
Mike Weber, making his first career star, led both teams with 84 yards on the ground. All-purpose back Curtis Samuel led the team with 94 receiving yards, while also adding 67 yards on the ground
It wasn’t just the offense and its 456 yards as the defense held the Falcons’ potent attack to just 166 total yards while also producing one highlight turnover.#BTNStandout alert:@OhioStateFB‘s @MalikHooker23 just made this crazy, one-handed INT. https://t.co/Umw67Dp87i
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 3, 2016
It wasn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows for the Buckeyes, unfortunately, as starting defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle went down with a right knee injury in the first quarter of the contest. Sprinkle has already been ruled out for the remainder of the game, and the tackle could be sidelined for an extended period of time.
Ohio State DT Tracy Sprinkle has been ruled out for rest of the game. Hearing injury is serious and he’s facing surgery for a leg injury.
— Austin Ward (@AWardESPN) September 3, 2016