J.T. Barrett Injury Leaves Ohio State Rooting for Minnesota

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett suffered a leg injury in Saturday’s game vs. Michigan, and it will likely keep him out for what’s left of Ohio State’s season. That includes next week’s Big 10 Championship Game, a berth in which Ohio State has already clinched. In that game, the Buckeyes will take on the winner of the Minnesota–Wisconsin game on Saturday.

For Ohio State’s sake, the Buckeyes should be rooting for the Golden Gophers in that game. This is nothing against Minnesota, which has had a very strong season and is good enough to upset Wisconsin if the Golden Gophers play their best football; however, even if sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones has to lead Ohio State into the Big 10 title game, the Buckeyes are deep enough in all three phases of the game to beat Minnesota, a team it beat once already this season.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, was going to be a handful for the Buckeyes even with Barrett healthy, thanks to its devastating running game led by 2,000-yard back Melvin Gordon.

But now, as Ohio State turns to its third quarterback of the year, the Buckeyes have to be a bit of a shell of their former selves. Remember, this is an Ohio State team that lost to Virginia Tech, a 6-6 club that barely squeaked past an even worse Virginia team Friday night just to earn bowl eligibility — and that loss was in Columbus.

Ohio State has put up eye-popping offensive numbers most of the season. But how that offense will perform with Jones running it, assuming a long-term absence for Barrett, is anybody’s guess. It’s probably safe to say, however, that it won’t be as effective. That leaves matters to the Buckeyes’ defense, and if you have to bet on your defense to stop Gordon and the Badgers, it’s not a comfortable position to be in if Ohio State has national championship dreams.

If Ohio State still entertains hope of making the national college football playoff this season with Jones at quarterback, the Buckeyes would be wise to hope Minnesota knocks off Wisconsin today just to make the possible path toward those semifinals a little bit clearer with Barrett injured.

Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.