Ohio State issued the proper response Saturday.
Star quarterback J.T. Barrett went down with a right ankle fracture and did not return in a 28-21 game with Michigan. According to early reports, Barrett likely is done for the season.
Backup Cardale Jones stepped in, Ezekiel Elliott ripped off a 44-yard touchdown and the Buckeyes went on to a 42-28 win against the Wolverines, their 24th consecutive regular-season win in Big Ten play.
Now it’s about the response to that response. In other words, another pivotal question for a College Football Playoff committee that still doesn’t know the difference between TCU and Baylor.
Ohio State still has a chance to be a 12-1 conference champion, one game better than the Horned Frogs or Bears. In any other situation, that would be good enough for a spot in the playoffs.
What will the value judgment be without Barrett? Will the committee really let Ohio State play their way “in” against Minnesota or Wisconsin next week?
The football committee now has to deal with a similar problem the NCAA Tournament committee had to confront in 1999-2000, whenCincinnati’s Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the Conference-USA tournament. The committee dropped the Bearcats, who were clearly the best team in the nation with Martin, to a No. 2 seed.
Cincinnati lost in the second round to Tulsa. The value judgment hurt the Bearcats, no question.
What should the committee do if the Buckeyes win the Big Ten championship?
You let them in. It’s the right precedent.
Florida State started Marcus Outzen ahead of Chris Weinke, who suffered a season-ending neck injury, in the 1998 Fiesta Bowl. Tennessee won 23-16, but the Seminoles at least had a chance.
Remember, Barrett wasn’t even supposed to be the starter. He took over for Braxton Miller, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury before the season started. Not giving Ohio State that chance sends too many not-so mixed messages.
It says conference championships don’t matter. It says the game is so dependent on quarterbacks that the other 21 guys on the field don’t matter. It says injuries are another subjective argument in the realm of “game control,” “eyeball test” and all the other useless buzz words. It says you have to penalize teams for an injury based on what you think might happen.
It says the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff is a full-blown mess, one that might leave a Big Ten champion out that continues to win despite two unthinkable injuries at the most important position in coach Urban Meyer’s offense.
The Buckeyes are left to do what they did all season with Barrett, only this time with a quarterback who has never started a game. It’s better if it’s Wisconsin with Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon. Ohio State has to take care of business there first. Beat Wisconsin or Minnesota. Finish 12-1. Hope Jones meets some of those buzz words. See what happens.
That would be the proper response.
