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What controversy? Why Ohio State shouldn't be worried about QB situation

Murmurs rippled throughout college football when Ohio State coach Urban Meyer admitted he had no idea who his starting quarterback was after three games.

Should it be Cardale Jones? Should it be J.T. Barrett? Doesn’t Meyer have to settle on one?

Maybe not.

Sure, the old football truism is “if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none.” And the Ohio State offense hasn't looked crisp after an opening romp against Virginia Tech. Toggling back and forth between Barrett and Jones seems unwise, as neither feels secure and a certain offensive rhythm is lost. Momentum seems to depend on routine, and the quarterback sets the routine.

Ohio State quarterbacks J.T. Barrett (L) and Cardale Jones celebrate after beating Virginia Tech. (AP)
Ohio State quarterbacks J.T. Barrett (L) and Cardale Jones celebrate after beating Virginia Tech. (AP)

Yet Meyer’s own coaching history strongly suggests the two-quarterback rule can be broken.

Most college football fans know Meyer used Chris Leak and Tim Tebow during Florida’s national championship run in 2006. The fan base had strong views on who the starting passer should be – remember the jeers for Leak? – but both fared fine. Better than fine. Both fared seamlessly. And when Braxton Miller got hurt in Meyer’s first year in Columbus, Kenny Guiton stepped in without a blip. The team went undefeated.

Yes, this is different. The Leak-Tebow combination was situational, and the Miller-Guiton transition (like the Barrett-Jones parallel last year) was out of necessity.

But again, look at Meyer’s history: In the 12 years he’s been a head coach since leaving Bowling Green, Meyer has lost a total of 20 games. A quarter of those losses (five) came in one season, when his starting quarterback was traditional drop-back passer John Brantley. Another three came in Meyer’s first season at Florida, when Leak (only 81 yards rushing) was the mainstay.

When Meyer has had a quarterback who’s been able to both throw and leave the pocket with relative ease, his teams have been basically unbeatable. The list of starters has included Alex Smith, Tebow, Barrett, Jones and Miller. (You can even throw in Josh Harris at Bowling Green; Meyer lost only six games there.) If a quarterback can pose multiple problems, that quarterback has been able to win in Meyer’s offense. Both Jones and Barrett (and Miller) do that.

“We believe in the quarterback always being a threat to run the football,” explains Tom Herman, who was Meyer’s offensive coordinator at Ohio State before moving on this season to take over at Houston. “When he’s not, you’re saying the defense is plus-two in numbers. The quarterback is not a runner, nor is he a blocker. The running back can’t block for himself. So you’re down two blockers automatically. When the quarterback can run, you’re down only one. If you can read one of those [rushers], you’re only down one and make it an advantage.”

Even if the quarterback changes, the system does not – as long as both passers provide a second threat. So although Meyer said, “I don’t know” who would start before settling on Jones last Saturday, it’s very unlikely Meyer was as uncertain as he let on. (It’s very unlikely he’s uncertain at all.) Barrett torched Michigan State last season, and so it could make sense to have him start that game again – especially since the Spartans' secondary is somewhat depleted by injury. Michigan State is the major threat to a repeat appearance in the playoff, and Meyer – a preparation demon if ever there was one – may want Barrett to at least be ready for that game.

Urban Meyer (R) smiles after QB Cardale Jones (L) led the Buckeyes to the national title. (AP)
Urban Meyer (R) smiles after QB Cardale Jones (L) led the Buckeyes to the national title. (AP)

And it’s not like these are untested passers. Barrett’s win in East Lansing last season was as high-pressure as a regular season game gets; Jones obviously has dealt with the most stressful of games already after stepping in last season to lead the Buckeyes past Wisconsin in a Big Ten title game rout (59-0), through Nick Saban's vaunted Alabama defense in the College Football Playoff semifinal and topping it off by beating Marcus Mariota's Oregon Ducks in the national championship game.

It's fair to say Meyer has confidence in both, so why not make future opponents wonder and sweat? If Meyer knows something and the other team doesn’t, why divulge? Why not make Michigan watch Barrett against Michigan State and still have no idea if Jones will start in Columbus the following week? In either case, a defense has to prepare for Ezekiel Elliott and Braxton Miller, and good luck with that.

Whatever Meyer is tinkering with, he has time to do it. The Bucks don’t play anyone imposing for a month, save possibly Penn State, which is a home game. The next big test is also at home, on Nov. 7 against Minnesota, a team that most everyone has unjustly underrated. Yet by then there will be far more game action for Jones or Barrett or both. More important, there will be more experience on the flank for Miller, and more time for Meyer to weave all of the various parts together into a playoff-ready machine.

Meyer hasn’t lost often as a head coach, and he’s lost even less often as a head coach with a multidimensional quarterback. Now he has two, both of whom have won major games away from the Shoe. Maybe at other schools two quarterbacks adds up to zero. In a Meyer offense, two can add up to plenty.

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