COLUMBUS, Ohio – Buckeye quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his right ankle in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 42-28 win over arch-rival Michigan and will not play in next week’s Big Ten championship game or a bowl.
Barrett will undergo surgery on Sunday, according to a team spokesman.
Barrett’s leg twisted underneath him when he was tackled on the first play of the fourth quarter with Ohio State holding on to a 28-21 lead.
Before he was injured Barrett ran for two touchdowns and passed for another. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 176 yards, and also ran 15 times for 89 yards.
Sophomore Cardale Jones came in for the Buckeyes (11-1, 8-0) to lead the drive that culminated in Ezekiel Elliott’s 44-yard run on fourth-and-1 with 4:58 left run. Darron Lee returned a fumble 33 yards late to add to the lead.
Coach Urban Meyer says Jones will assume the reins when the East Division champion Buckeyes play Dec. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis against the other divisional winner, Wisconsin (8:00 p.m./FOX), and expressed confidence that his team could continue to win, now behind it’s third-string quarterback.
“I’ve said this many times, the quarterback is a product of the guys around him and the guys around him are playing pretty good right now. The good thing is they a have similar skill set and so it’s not like we’re going to have to drastically change things,” he said.
Wisconsin will make its third championship game appearance after claiming the title in 2011 and 2012 while Ohio State earned a second straight championship game berth.
Barrett took over the starting job in August when three-year starter and two-time Big Ten MVP Braxton Miller was lost for the season after shoulder surgery.
With no postseason, the only thing left to be decided for Michigan (5-7, 3-5 Big Ten) is the future of coach Brady Hoke. Interim AD Jim Hackett will make the call on whether the coach stays or goes.