ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 29: Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) drops back to pass during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic between Ohio State and USC on December 29, 2017, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
J.T. Barrett played his final college game against the USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl last night (Dec. 29). While Barrett and the rest of the Ohio State Buckeyes would have probably liked to play in the College Football Playoff instead, that didn’t stop Barrett from going out on top, and breaking another record.
In the game, Barrett passed the great Drew Brees, who played for the Purdue Boilermakers, for the most yards of total offense in the Big Ten.
Another ☝️ for QB1@JT_theQB4th passes @drewbrees record for B1G total offensive yards.#GoBucks #BeatUSC pic.twitter.com/LKpZV1swMP
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 30, 2017
Barrett also broke his own record for the most touchdowns in a season in school history.
🚨 NEW RECORD ALERT 🚨@JT_theQB4th now holds the school record for total TDs in a season!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NnH7hWCmkl
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 30, 2017
Just to show how amazing Barrett has been during his college career, let’s turn to landgrantholyland.com:
This was one of the few school and conference records that the fifth-year quarterback hadn’t yet broken in his legendary career, and now #16 has claimed one more top spot. His legacy at Ohio State has been marred with untimely injuries and QB controversies, but Barrett has been a leader since the beginning and his effort and dedication has never been questioned since first suiting up in the Scarlet and Gray.
Heading into his final game leading the Buckeyes, Barrett was already one of the most decorated players to ever compete at Ohio State, holding over 20 school records as he finishes his collegiate career. Before the bowl game, Barrett had just under 3,000 passing yards (2,939) and 732 rushing yards, along with 104 and 41 touchdowns, respectively.
In the game, the Buckeye managed to rack up 114 passing yards, 66 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Not only that, but Ohio State cruised to victory. When the final whistle was blown, the Buckeyes won by the score of 24-7.
Ohio State showed it belonged in the College Football Playoff against USC. After all, it not only shut down USC quarterback Sam Darnold and the USC offense, which is quite the feat in itself, but it controlled the game from basically start to finish.
Barrett, playing his final college game only about a two-hour drive from his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas, broke Drew Brees’ Big Ten career record for total offense with 12,697 yards. Barrett played 50 games and was 38-6 as a starter. His 147 touchdowns (104 passing, 43 rushing) are also a Big Ten record, 41 more than Brees at Purdue.
“It’s pretty crazy. I mean, since I was little I looked up to Drew Brees,” Barrett said. “To pass a record like that, just very grateful to the people that were around me.”
While the Buckeyes won’t be celebrating a national championship this season, it was still a very successful year. After all, Ohio State recorded a record of 12-2. Plus, this team won the Big Ten title, and as mentioned before, the Cotton Bowl. Not only that, but the Buckeyes also managed to knock off four ranked opponents in 2017, with two of those wins coming in the final two games.
Ohio State finished 2017 on a five-game winning streak, and Barrett & Co. most definitely went out on top.
Barrett should go down as one of the best Buckeyes quarterbacks of all time, to say the least, for what he did on and off the football field.
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