Written by Mitch Stacy at NCAA.com
Whether Ohio State can beat Clemson in the College Football Playoff next week could depend on which version of the inconsistent Buckeyes offense shows up to play in the desert.
Will it be the score-at-will unit that averaged more than 53 points through the first five games and blew away Nebraska and Maryland 62-3 on back-to-back Saturdays in November?
Or the bunch that bumbled to an upset loss at Penn State, and looked nearly as off-kilter in narrow wins over Northwestern and Michigan State, with spotty pass protection, receivers who can’t get open and J.T. Barrett running for his life?
“What I see from J.T. is he’s got his head down and he’s going to work,” wide receiver Noah Brown said. “He knows what he needs to work on, and he knows what we need to work on.”
Barrett’s supporting cast included a 1,000-yard rusher in freshman Mike Weber, All-American hybrid back Curtis Samuel and one of the best defenses in college football.Make no mistake, Ohio State (11-1, No. 3 CFP) is in the national playoff because of Barrett, the unflappable Texan who’s never the fastest guy on the field and doesn’t have the best arm but time after time put the team on his back and found a way to win. The fourth-year junior has lost only three times as Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
But the glaring weakness is the passing game: Receivers struggled to get open, Barrett could be tentative pulling the trigger and pass protection was leaky. Barrett was sacked a half dozen times in the Penn State loss. In the double-overtime win against Michigan, he was flattened eight times and didn’t complete a pass over 16 yards. A reliable deep threat never did emerge this season from a promising pool of wide receivers.
Ohio State contends it can be fixed by bowl time.
“We’re putting a lot more emphasis on the passing game to continue to develop that, both in protection and routes and quarterback play,” said co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck. “I like what I see.”
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