J.T. Barrett forces three-way Heisman conversation with snow-stopping performance

Bill Bender

J.T. Barrett forces three-way Heisman conversation with snow-stopping performance image

It doesn’t seem possible.

The Heisman Trophy conversation seems to be a two-horse race between Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott. But you can put Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett right beside those two after his latest monster performance in No. 8 Ohio State’s 31-24 win against No. 25 Minnesota. 

Forget the human element. Barrett can’t be stopped by anybody right now, not even Mother Nature. He made that clear with an 86-yard touchdown run in the first quarter in which he outran two Minnesota safeties to the end zone.

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Barrett is on arguably the most-impressive two-game run of the season. A week after hitting up Michigan State for 386 total yards (300 pass, 86 rush) and five TDs, he racked up 387 total yards (198 pass, 189 rush) and four total TDs against the Gophers. That’s 773 yards and nine TDs.

That’s opened up everything for Ohio State’s offense, and it’s clear the rest of the Big Ten can’t keep up. The difference in speed is almost unfair and more-importantly weather-proof. Consider that the Buckeyes now have six TDs of 30 yards or more in their last three games. Barrett found Jalin Marshall for a 57-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Michael Thomas for a 30-yard TD in the third. Urban Meyer’s offense hasn’t looked this good at Ohio State in three years.

Forget comparing Barrett to Braxton Miller. Barrett is on par with Troy Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. Barrett already has more total yards and touchdowns than Smith did.

That might not be enough to unseat Mariota, though the two have comparable passer ratings. But he likely moves ahead of Prescott after top-ranked Mississippi State fell to Alabama and Prescott struggled. But Barrett is doing all this on such an accelerated curve that’s it almost impossible not to shake your head in disbelief.

The rest of the Big Ten is feeling that. Neither the Spartans nor the Gophers — solid traditional-style programs — could keep up with Barrett, who looks like Denard Robinson with an arm. Michigan is going to feel that in two weeks. By then, who knows?

The quarterback who didn’t have a clue against Virginia Tech back in September might just have a chance to hold up college football’s most-prestigious trophy.

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.