COLUMBUS, Ohio- After recording only 350 yards of offense and 16 points against Oklahoma last Saturday, No. 8 Ohio State put on a show offensively against Army West Point. The Buckeye offense had a season-high 586 yards and recorded five touchdowns in the 31-point win over the Black Knights. Here are my postgame grades for the offense as a whole.
Quarterback
There is not denying that quarterback J.T. Barrett struggled in his last time out against Oklahoma. Completing only 54.2 percent of his passes, the fifth-year threw for less than 200 yards passing and threw an interception. Against the Black Knights, it seemed those troubles were behind him, at least for the short term.
Barrett threw for 270 yards passing with two passing touchdowns and one touchdown on the ground. With seven minutes left in the game, Barrett threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Austin Mack to break the Big Ten record for most touchdowns responsible for in conference history.
Even without putting his name in the history books, Barrett looked much better behind center against Army West Point. Before the season started, with both the Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day hires, Barrett was supposed to improve on two things, accuracy and increased tempo. Both were major factors against the Black Knights.
First, Barrett completed 75.8 percent of his passes, a season-high. Second, he helped the offense run just over three plays per minute, averaging 8.5 yards per play.
Barrett was efficient and accurate in this comeback game against Army West Point. Yes, there are some things still to work on, like deep ball accuracy, but Ohio State fans should be pleased with his performance on Saturday.
Game Grade: A-