COLUMBUS – Cardale Jones will start. J.T. Barrett will play.
After neither quarterback was particularly impressive during one of the more uninspiring 38-point victories a team can have, head coach Urban Meyer said the Buckeyes will stick with the status quo for this week’s game against Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m./ABC).
Meyer was not happy with the performance of his quarterbacks and even less impressed with his offensive line during the team’s 38-0 win against Hawaii last Saturday.
“Our success over the last three years and two games is because of our offensive line, and with that comes a lot of responsibility. We expect them to play much better,” he told reporters Monday
If neither quarterback set the place on fire Saturday, Meyer thinks the O-line also deserves a share of the blame.
“The approach I’ve taken is Cardale started. He’s the starting quarterback…J.T. has not beat him out yet. He’s going to continue to have opportunities to do that because J.T. is a very good player and Cardale’s got to perform,” he said. “Neither played that well Saturday, but a lot of it was extenuating circumstances about protection.”
Jones went 12 for 18 for 111 yards against the Rainbow Warriors. Barrett went 8 for 15 for 70 yards. Neither threw a touchdown pass.
Fans online and on talk radio already are wondering if the right player is starting. Meyer sees room for improvement but no reason to change quarterback in midstream.
“I think we have two excellent quarterbacks, and I expect them to play very well. Neither of them played very well Saturday,” he told reporters Monday.
On another note, the kickoff time for the Sept. 26 home game against Western Michigan has been set for 3:30 p.m. The game will be carried by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.