This whole red-zone quarterback thing is working well for Urban Meyer and Ohio State.
Meyer's strategy of utilizing J.T. Barrett once the Buckeyes reach the red zone has paid huge dividends in recent weeks, with Barrett accounting for four total touchdowns in Ohio State's 38-10 win over Penn State on Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.
The Nittany Lions had a 3-0 lead after a quarter, sparking the weekly panic over the Buckeyes' offense. But things changed in a hurry — another weekly tradition — with Barrett and Ezekiel Elliott teaming for a trio of touchdown runs in the second quarter.
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Christian Hackenberg and the Lions showed a little bit of life to open the second half, with Hackenberg hitting Chris Godwin for a 56-yard gain and following that up with a screen pass to DaeSean Hamilton for a touchdown. But the Buckeyes got a field goal from Jack Willoughby and a jump-pass touchdown toss from Barrett to Braxton Miller in the fourth quarter, the latter reminding everyone of Meyer's former charge at Florida, Tim Tebow. Barrett pitched another touchdown throw after the Buckeyes' defense gave him a short field when recovering a Hackenberg fumble in the fourth quarter.
Barrett and Elliott made for a fearsome rushing tandem, combining for 255 yards. Elliott had 153 of those for his 12th straight game of more than 100 yards. He's rushed for triple-digit yardage in 16 of his last 19 games. Barrett went for 102 yards, doing almost all his damage with his legs, as he only threw four passes (two went for touchdowns). Cardale Jones, the Buckeyes' starting quarterback and quarterback for the other 80 yards of the field, completed nine passes for 84 yards.
While Barrett and Elliott had big nights, perhaps the most impressive offensive performance came from Penn State's Saquon Barkley, the freshman running back back in action after sitting out the last two games with an injury. Barkley toted the ball 26 times for a jaw-dropping 194 yards against a talented Ohio State defense. The youngster has proven himself far and away the most effective weapon on Penn State's offense, and he makes them a different unit when he's on the field and getting the ball. That being said, Saturday there was just too much for the Lions to overcome when it came to posing a challenge to the nation's No. 1 team.
The Buckeyes improved to a perfect 7-0 with the win and will likely remain atop the rankings. The Lions dropped to 5-2 with the loss.