Fish And Chipps: J.T. Barrett should be Ohio State’s starting quarterback

Generally, I’m not fond of making biblical references, but since Ohio State University football is basically a religion, and the Ohio State’s quarterback situation is in dire need of a permanent starter, this seems appropriate.

If Urban Meyer knows anything about the story of Moses, then he knows that J.T. Barrett should stick as OSU’s starting quarterback (And to be clear, I am in no way saying that Barrett is Moses, but stay with me).

Let’s flash back, because as I recall from my Sunday school classes, Moses is the guy we talk about all the time, right? But he wasn’t the one who actually walked the Jews into the promised land — that was Joshua.

Now how does this have anything to do with Ohio State football?

Well, in Ohio State’s improbable run to the national title last season, Barrett played the role of Moses. Not only did he set an conference offensive record with 45 total touchdowns, but he was arguably the sole reason why the Buckeyes even had a remote shot at making the inaugural College Football Playoff.

After a shocking upset in Week 2 at the hands of Virginia Tech, Barrett became one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and week after week he singlehandedly put Ohio State’s offense on his back. His quarterback efficiency rating last season was 169.8, second in the nation only to Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota (181.7).

Barrett brought a similar dimension to the Ohio State offense that’s always been a staple in the Meyer spread attack — the ability to keep defenses honest with the quarterback zone-read option.

Barrett was perfect for Meyer’s offense, and as the season rolled on, the redshirt freshman became the Buckeyes’ leader and go-to playmaker.

But during the final game of the regular season against Michigan, Barrett suffered a broken ankle, and in came Joshua, aka Cardale Jones, who walked Ohio State into the promised land after Barrett had done the hard work of giving the Buckeyes a legitimate chance at making the playoffs.

As you probably know, the rest is history. In the Big Ten title game the following week, Jones and Ohio State manhandled Wisconsin 59-0, clinched the final College Football Playoff spot and went on a magical three-game stretch that culminated in the Buckeyes’ eighth national title.

So when the 2015 season rolled around, everyone assumed Ohio State had the perfect situation: two overqualified starting quarterbacks for just one spot.

But the Buckeyes are seven games in, and one thing is clear — their quarterback situation is an absolute mess.

Every week we’ve been asking ourselves the same questions: Is Cardale Jones going to start? Will J.T. Barrett get any playing time? And when will Braxton Miller make an appearance in the wildcat formation?

There has been zero continuity in Ohio State’s offense because Meyer doesn’t want to stick with one quarterback, and his offense has suffered because of it.

Jones won the starting job out of preseason camp because he was the sexy pick, not the safe pick. At 6-foot-5 250 pounds, the redshirt junior was making NFL scouts and social media maniacs salivate because he can throw a football 50 yards with just a flick of the wrist. But through seven games, Jones is averaging just 8.4 yards per completion and has been terribly inaccurate, especially downfield where he shined last season.

Watching Ohio State’s offense in 2015, it appears that the bravado and magic that Jones brought to the table just simply isn’t there anymore. Jones never looks comfortable in the pocket, and although he has a 62 percent completion rate, he’s thrown just seven touchdowns passes to five interceptions.

And it shows in the Buckeyes’ offensive production.

There’s been a seven point drop in Ohio State’s scoring (44.8 points per game in 2014 to 37 PPG in 2015), and much of that is due to the Buckeyes’ inability to move the ball vertically through the air, which is supposed to be Jones’ forte.

If it weren’t for star running back Ezekiel Elliot, who already has amassed 988 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 straight 100-yard rushing games, the Buckeyes’ offense wouldn’t look nearly as nice on the stat sheet.

And more importantly, if Elliot hadn’t busted out for 274 yards and three touchdowns against Indiana University, the Buckeyes probably would’ve lost that game and said goodbye to its national championship aspirations.

But just as things were looking stagnant once more against Pennsylvania State University on Saturday, there was a sudden shift in the Buckeyes’ offensive woes.

In the third quarter of the Buckeyes’ 38-10 win, the Ohio State offense finally appeared to be clicking like it was all of last year, and it’s because J.T. Barrett was inserted as the Buckeyes’ quarterback.

Meyer had been using Barrett specifically in the red zone the last few weeks, but after Jones continued to be ineffective against the Nittany Lions, the redshirt sophomore was inserted back into the lineup and immediately Ohio State became its dynamic self again.

The zone-read option with Barrett and Elliot totally overwhelmed the Penn State defense, and Barrett finished the game with 102 yards rushing and two touchdowns along with another two touchdowns through the air.

Every week, Ohio State fans have had to endure the classic Meyer nonchalant talk about his starting quarterback, but more than halfway into the season the results are clear — Barrett needs to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback.

Jones had an improbable three-game run last season, but his entire body of work just doesn’t stack up to Barrett’s, and with Ohio State’s 2015 season about to hit the homestretch, Meyer’s team needs a true starting quarterback.

So with the Buckeyes’ 20-game winning streak, quest for a second straight national title and college football supremacy at stake, Meyer needs to get right with the Old Testament and remember who really led the Jewish people to the promised land.

Because last time I checked, it wasn’t Joshua.