COLUMBUS – J.T. Barrett shook off an early interception that was returned for a touchdown and went on to rewrite pages of the OSU football record book (including some he wrote himself) in the Buckeyes’ 77-10 dismantling of Bowling Green Saturday.
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Barrett was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for a school-record seven touchdowns during the game, but he had to shake off the early interception, which involved some internal dialogue on the sideline.
“The conversation I had with myself, though, is just like, ‘Well, darn, J’,” he explained to reporters Monday. “But I was, like, ‘Man, J, somebody could’ve told you you was throwing a pick six the first drive of 2016, you’d be, like, you’re a liar.’ So I was sitting there, I said: ‘Sheesh, J.T., it’s a pick six, but relax, you know what happened. You were just being greedy. So stop being greedy.’”
In being less greedy, Barrett completed 21 of 31 passes for 349 yards and six touchdowns to four different receivers, setting a personal best for passing yards and matching his career high for touchdown tosses. Barrett also threw for six touchdown passes against Kent State in 2014.
The junior also added a rushing touchdown to set a new school record for the number of touchdowns responsible for in a single game and finished with 379 total yards of offense to improve his record as a starter to 16-2.
Head coach Urban Meyer attributed much of Barrett’s resilience to experience.
“I think he’s such a leader, such a veteran, and I think he knows this is his show,” he said. ”There was zero conversation. We’re fine, move on, the next play, let’s go.”
Game notes:
The attendance of 107,193 marked the eighth-largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history.
The 77 points scored are the most by an Ohio State team since a 76-0 win over Florida A&M Sept. 21, 2013.
Ohio State recorded a school-record 776 yards of total offense. The previous high was 718 vs. Mount Union in 1930.
The 776 yards and 77 points are the most by an Urban Meyer-coached team in his career.