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Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett throws the ball in the third quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma.
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Buckeyes to stick with Barrett as pressure builds

BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH

Buckeyes to stick with Barrett as pressure builds

Urban Meyer says Ohio State will not change quarterbacks

COLUMBUS — For better or worse, Ohio State will stick with starting quarterback J.T. Barrett for the foreseeable future.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer shot down any thought of replacing Barrett after a lackluster passing effort in the Buckeyes’ 31-16 loss to then No. 5-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Barrett and the Ohio State passing game struggled again in the loss. Barrett completed 19 of his 35 passes for 183 yards with no touchdowns and a crucial fourth-quarter interception.

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Asked if he was considering a change at quarterback, Meyer said he was not, and he is “never going to point a finger at a quarterback.”

“Well, you’re the starting quarterback and you lost,” Meyer said after the game. “We didn't play very well. A lot of it is going to be on him. But a lot of it, until I watch the tape, that's just the nature of the beast.”

While the cries to replace Barrett reached their loudest point of the fifth-year senior’s career, he appears to be the starter for the long haul.

Last season, Barrett won the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football award as the Big Ten’s most valuable player, and he also set the Ohio State record for most total touchdowns in a career.

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But a number of sluggish performances in the second half of last season — including a 31-0 beating to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl — led the Buckeyes to hire Kevin Wilson as their offensive coordinator and focus their offseason efforts on improving their passing offense.

So far, there has been no tangible improvement. Through two games, Barrett’s completion percentage is at 55.7 percent, almost six points lower than his mark for 2016, which was Barrett’s career low for a season.

The Buckeyes, who fell from No. 2 to No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press poll, had 25 passing yards in the first half against Oklahoma, and didn’t find much more rhythm in the second half, either.

“Even the times we tried to go fast, there wasn’t a lot to it,” Wilson said. “We’re just out of sync, out of sorts. We gotta work at that.”

Barrett mentioned the Buckeyes’ 2014 loss to Virginia Tech, another home upset early in the season, and said he can the passing game can overcome its current funk.

“I’ve been here before,” Barrett said. “But I definitely didn’t play up to par as far as putting us in the best situation to win. With that being said, I’m going to go work, get better, and just try to rally the guys so when it comes to next week, we’re at our best.”

With many are advocating for backup Dwayne Haskins — coveted recruit Micah Parsons tweeted Meyer should make a change — to play, center Billy Price said he was “100 percent confident” in Barrett as Ohio State’s quarterback.

“He has gotten us in a program to a point where most haven’t,” Price said.

Meyer said Ohio State does have to make changes to its offense in the coming weeks.

But its quarterback will not be among them.

“We just have to keep evaluating what we're doing,” Meyer said. “But I'm going to make it perfectly clear: there's not a bull's eye on J.T. Barrett.”

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz.

First Published September 10, 2017, 12:44 p.m.

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Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett throws the ball in the third quarter of Saturday's loss to Oklahoma.  (BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)
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