College Football Insider: All is not lost for OSU, just another QB

Elite college quarterbacks don't grow on buckeye trees, no matter how easy Ohio State makes it look.

Braxton Miller was the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013, so it seemed like a devastating blow when the senior quarterback suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in August.

In stepped J.T. Barrett, a little known redshirt freshman, and after some early missteps, he blossomed into a Heisman Trophy candidate.

When Barrett broke his right ankle last week against Michigan, it was natural to assume the Buckeyes were sunk heading into Saturday's Big Ten title game against Wisconsin. Now it's up to Cardale Jones, a 6-5, 250-pound sophomore from Cleveland, who is best known for a tweet he wishes he could take back.

In October 2012, Jones tweeted, "Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain't come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS."

He deleted the tweet but it has lived on as an example for college athletes everywhere of how not to handle social media.

Jones and Miller were part of the same recruiting class in 2011. Miller was a five-star phenom, and Jones was a three-star project. He spent one year at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, the same school offensive lineman Josh Campion attended before coming to the Gophers.

But Barrett climbed above Jones during August, and the rest is history. Barrett passed for 34 touchdowns, an Ohio State record. He also had 11 rushing touchdowns, giving him 45 total, which broke Drew Brees' Big Ten record.

So Ohio State will definitely miss Barrett in Indianapolis. Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda undoubtedly will bring a scheme designed to confuse a quarterback making his first college start. The Badgers rank second in the nation in total defense, allowing just 260.3 yards per game, so this would be a tall task for any quarterback.

Ohio State doesn't have a smothering defense to stop Melvin Gordon and the Badgers, so the Buckeyes probably will need to score 35-plus points to win this game. Ohio State still has plenty of weapons, but Jones will have to make some big plays.

In 10 career games, playing mostly in mop-up time, Jones has completed 11 of 19 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. He also has 43 carries for 334 yards (7.8 average).

"We have confidence from what we've seen," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said, noting all the first-team practice reps Jones has taken the past three years. "It's not a blind confidence like most people would have with their third-string quarterback."

"He's got five linemen who have played together all year and done pretty well," Meyer said. "He's got a 1,000-yard rusher [Ezekiel Elliott] at tailback. When [Barrett] stepped in there, there was a sophomore tailback that never started a game. Now, there's a much more veteran group that's one of the top offenses in the country."

Outside that huddle, Jones will have legions of doubters. For an Ohio State quarterback, that's nothing new.

1. Ohio State (11-1, 8-0): Urban Meyer is 7-2 in bowl games, including last year's Orange Bowl loss to Clemson.

2. Michigan State (10-2, 7-1): Spartans went 0-4 in first four bowls under Mark Dantonio but have won their past three.

3. Wisconsin (10-2, 7-1): Gary Andersen is 1-2 in bowls, including last year's Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina.

5. Nebraska (9-3, 5-3): Bo Pelini had a 3-3 record in bowl games, including last year's Gator Bowl victory over Georgia.

6. Maryland (7-5, 4-4): Terps have second consecutive bowl bid after missing out the first two years under Randy Edsall.

7. Iowa (7-5, 4-4): After choking away Nebraska game, the Hawkeyes still are heading to their 12th bowl in 14 years.

8. Rutgers (7-5, 3-5): Knights are headed to their ninth bowl in 10 years, including third in a row under Kyle Flood.

9. Illinois (6-6, 3-5): After starting 3-4, the Illini defeated Northwestern to clinch their first bowl bid since 2011.

11. Northwestern (5-7, 3-5): Pat Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to five straight bowls before missing out the past two years.

12. Penn State (6-6, 2-6): Bowl-bound James Franklin's most impressive win so far is over 8-3 Central Florida.

13. Indiana (4-8, 1-7): Bowl game next year or bust for Kevin Wilson.

14. Purdue (3-9, 1-7): Indiana loss gave Boilers a six-game losing streak to spoil Darrell Hazell's second season.

SHORT TAKES

• If Wisconsin beats Ohio State, the Big Ten will get left out of the College Football Playoff but could land three teams in second-tier bowls. That scenario could see Wisconsin in the Fiesta Bowl, Michigan State in the Orange and Ohio State in the Cotton or Peach. Then, if Nebraska goes to the Outback, the Gophers could get the Holiday Bowl.