ARCHDEACON: Barrett, not Mayfield, riles up Ohio State fans
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All the work Ohio State did from January to August to fix the problems it had in its 31-0 loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl seemed for naught Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Urban Meyer talked to the media Monday at the Woody and spent most of his weekly press conference talking about his struggling offense and quarterback J.T. Barrett.
Meyer’s seventh loss in six seasons as Ohio State coach left him in a familiar frame of mind.
“You go from devastated to crushed to pissed,” Meyer said, “and then you’ve got to move forward as a leader and get going. We’re somewhere between two and three right now: pissed and moving forward. Our players, they’re resilient. They get over things quickly. So it’s our job to get over them quickly and move forward and fix issues that caused the failing, the loss. That’s where we’re at.”
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Meyer shot down any idea of benching Barrett after the game and said Monday none of the backup quarterbacks are close to Barrett in terms of being ready to start.
However, Meyer would like to see Dwayne Haskins or Joe Burrow some game action.
“We like to do that anyway,” Meyer said. “That hasn’t presented itself. It’s strictly about who gives us the best opportunity to win, whether it be right guard or quarterback. Right now it’s not even a question.
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There could be an opportunity for the backups to play in the weeks ahead ahead with home games against Army (2-0) on at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and UNLV (1-1) at noon Sept. 23 and then a road game against Rutgers (0-2) on Sept. 30. Ohio State will be heavy favorites in each of those games.
Army, which beat Fordham 64-6 and Buffalo 21-17 in the first two weeks, presents a unique challenge because of its offense. The Black Knights have rushed the ball 113 times and attempted 10 passes.
“Army is very unique,” Meyer said. “They’re second in the country in rushing. The wishbone creates unique issues.”
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