COLUMBUS — J.T. Barrett played one of the best games of his decorated career, bringing the Buckeyes back from 11 points down in the final five minutes to hand No. 2 Penn State its first loss, 39-38, in front of 109,302 fans, the second-largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history.
“I’ve never had a kid play perfect, but damn he was close tonight,” OSU head coach Urban Meyer said of Barrett after what he said was probably the greatest comeback of his coaching career.
Ohio State came back from two separate 18-point deficits, marking the largest deficit overcome by an Urban Meyer-coached team.
UPDATE (4:29 p.m.): Ohio State moved up to No. 3 in AP Top 25 and coaches’ college football polls.
Barrett turned in a bravura performance after weeks of criticism from fans and the media after struggling in a loss to Oklahoma while overwhelming inferior opponents.
“I don’t really focus on I guess the critiques that people have to say about me,” he said following the game. “I mean, everybody has a right to their own opinion. That’s okay with that. And so that’s something that doesn’t affect me.”
Barrett tossed three scoring passes in the fourth quarter, including a 16-yard TD throw to Marcus Baugh with 1:48 remaining.
“It was ‘8-17, Y seam, look back.’ And they gave us the look that we needed,” Meyer said.
“I saw the linebacker…I was, like, ‘J, just put it over the linebacker and we score.’ And so I was able to do that,” Barrett told reporters. “I think he saw me looking at him, and I was able to put it in a good spot. And Marcus made a great catch.”
The senior quarterback went 33 for 39 for 328 yards and four touchdowns while running 17 times for 95 yards, a school record 423 yards of total offense.
Saquon Barkley returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a Penn State touchdown and added a 36-yard scoring run, but he finished with just 44 yards on 21 carries.