This isn't really a secret, but Ohio State's offense won't look the same Saturday against Minnesota with Cardale Jones playing quarterback as it would with J.T. Barrett.
"They’re a little bit different styles," Urban Meyer said Tuesday on the Big Ten teleconference. "J.T., he’s a little bit more of the spread quarterback where he reads ends and Cardale, although he can do it, he’s a little bit more of the drop back pass game. However, not much different."
Barrett first made his mark this season excelling as Ohio State's red zone quarterback against Maryland and Penn State, before fully taking the reins over ahead of a 49-7 victory at Rutgers where he accounted for five touchdowns.
A better, more shifty runner than Jones, Barrett brought back the read-option element the offense lacked when the former was under center in the first seven games of 2015. The unit just moves better when Barrett's at quarterback, but his one-game suspension stemming from an OVI citation Saturday morning thrust Jones back in place this weekend against Minnesota.
“Obviously, he stepped up for us huge last year. I will always have 100 percent confidence in him, because he is a great player. He has a ton of ability and we love him.”– Taylor Decker on Cardale Jones
"Just as we've evolved offensively, because you have different pieces, different things going on, but where we're at right now, I couldn't be happier with where we're at the last couple of games and the momentum we have," offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said Monday. "So we just have to keep moving forward."
It could be difficult to do that, because Barrett's absence takes a significant threat away. Jones has a stronger arm, but Barrett's rushing ability led the unit to be much more effective and efficient before the bye, a main reason he became the starter. It also helped the Buckeyes be better in the red zone, an issue from earlier in 2015.
"We feel like we have a good answer for the red zone right now, and we've kind of evolved into what we're going to do there, and we know what we can do," Warinner said. "(Jones) practiced as part of that all through the last few weeks, even though J.T. has primarily done it."
Jones turned in the best performance of his career — at least from a numbers standpoint — a week before he lost the starting job. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior threw for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns and completed 75 percent of his passes in Ohio State's 49-28 win over the Terrapins Oct. 10.
"Obviously, he stepped up for us huge last year," left tackle Taylor Decker said Monday of Jones. "I will always have 100 percent confidence in him, because he is a great player. He has a ton of ability and we love him."
Jones was a pillar of stability when Ohio State ripped through the post-season a year ago, but the 2015 team is different than the one that won the national championship. One part that isn't, however, is running back Ezekiel Elliott, who's ran for at least 100 yards in 13 consecutive games.
Though Barrett isn't available to provide a deadly run threat and help take some pressure off Elliott Saturday against the Golden Gophers, the Heisman Trophy contender was bound to be a huge part of the game plan anyway.
Will that allow for Jones to have more opportunities in the play-action passing game, such a vital part of the offense? We'll see. Plenty depends on how the wide receivers play, too.
"We have certain guys that have made some plays down the field," Warinner said. "I mean, Curtis Samuel's caught some deep balls for us, which we think he's a threat, and Jalin (Marshall) as well. So we feel like those two guys are definitely deep threats for us."
If they can get separation down the field and if Jones has time to throw the ball, Ohio State should experience success. Braxton Miller could even see time at quarterback when the Buckeyes get inside the red zone, another potential change in place with Barrett suspended.
"Offensive staff, obviously there's a new wrinkle now, we got a little issue that we're going to spend a lot of time on with the guys said about the red zone so just getting guys in position to do the right thing," Meyer said. "That they can do what they, what their skill set says they can do. And that takes an incredible amount of time because every player's different."
Ohio State only has a week to get the offense ready with Jones at the helm, just like it did last year before the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin, a 59-0 win.
But make no mistake, it'll look different with Jones at quarterback and not Barrett coming out of the bye week.
"We had momentum going into the bye week, so it was one of those weeks that we wanted to maintain momentum," Meyer said. "It wasn't so much schematic. Third downs, we're still not where we are every year, red zone obviously we really improved, but more fundamentals and conditioning was what our focus was."
