If Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had hoped the beginning of the season would be the end of the quarterback controversy featuring junior Cardale Jones and sophomore J.T. Barrett, it was only wishful thinking. Jones played poorly against Northern Illinois on Saturday and, for the second week in a row, Barrett entered the game with the outcome still uncertain.
And now, after completing 4 of 9 passes for 36 yards and a pair of interceptions in a 20-13 Ohio State win, Jones' status as the starter looks uncertain, too. Barrett wasn't too effective either, completing 11 of 19 passes for 97 yards and threw an interception, as well. It took an interception return for a touchdown by OSU linebacker Darron Lee to put the game away.
Asked after the game if he knows who is starting quarterback is, Meyer responded, "Good question. I don't know that right now."
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, next week's game should offer every opportunity to make corrections: Western Michigan.
Here are eight other things we learned in Week 3 of college football:
2. Ford eats words. Midweek verbal barbs at LSU RB Leonard Fournette might not be such a good idea. Here's what Auburn safety Rudy Ford had to say about stopping the star sophomore in the days leading up to LSU's 45-21 win over the Tigers: "That shouldn't be difficult, that much, of a challenge," Ford said, according to AL.com. "We've got a great front seven and even on the back end we're all going to be ready to tackle, but our biggest thing is our energy level. As soon as we get off that bus, we're ready to tackle." Except, they weren't. Fournette went 71 yards on the opening play of the game, setting up an early touchdown and a huge day of 228 yards on 19 carries. Ford, meanwhile, was panned for his words on Twitter far harder than he ever hit Fournette.
3. Cook-to-Burbridge again. Every quarterback has a No. 1 receiver, but they don't all play like a No. 1 receiver. Michigan State QB Connor Cook is getting star-level play from Aaron Burbridge, and he turned in his best performance of the season Saturday in a 35-21 win over Air Force. Burbridge caught eight passes for 156 yards and caught three of Cook's four touchdown passes. Burbridge now has three 100-yard games in three weeks.
4. Jackets jammed. The Georgia Tech triple-option offense that no defensive coordinator likes to face can be stopped, after all. After scoring 69 and 65 points in their first two games, the Yellow Jackets met their match at Notre Dame in a 30-22 loss. The Fighting Irish defense held GT QB Justin Thomas to 27 yards on 11 carries, and didn't allow a 100-yard rusher among Tech's myriad of capable running backs. Meanwhile, it was ND rusher C.J. Prosise who was unstoppable (22 carries, 198 yards, three TDs).
5. Harbaugh prevails. Michigan beat UNLV 28-7 Saturday as Jim Harbaugh improved to 2-1 in his first season against new Rebels coach Tony Sanchez, who was coaching in the high school ranks a year ago. Yes, Harbaugh Hater Nation would have reveled in an upset win by only the fourth high school coach to ever land a head job at an FBS program. Buckeyes fans (see above) had problems of their own, anyway.
6. Record-setter. If you doubted new Georgia QB Greyson Lambert because he struggled at Virginia, witness what an upgrade in surrounding talent can help accomplish: The graduate transfer broke an NCAA record for single-game completion percentage. In a 52-20 win over South Carolina, Lambert completed 24 of 25 passes (96 percent). New York Jets QB Geno Smith was the last player to tie the previous mark (23 of 24).
7. Breaking Bielema. Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury had some mighty sharp words for Arkansas coach Bret Bielema after Texas Tech knocked off the Razorbacks, 35-24. Kingsbury said Bielema trashed the spread offense, which the Red Raiders operate, at a Texas high school coaches' convention over the summer. It was, to say the least, a source of motivation for Kingsbury.
8. Alabama's QB problems are real. The Alabama quarterback duo of Jake CokerandCooper Bateman combined for three interceptions on Saturday, and Coker could have thrown at least a couple more on. The fifth-year senior Coker made some plays to keep Alabama in the game, including some nifty scrambles, but struggled with his accuracy (21 of 45). In a 43-37 loss to Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide had plenty of other problems, including two special-teams turnovers, but turnovers are a fixable issue. Questionable quarterbacking sometimes isn't.
9. Luck runs out. After winning back-to-back games on desperation passes, BYU's good fortune came to an abrupt end Saturday in a 24-23 loss to UCLA. Tanner Mangum's last pass, this time, ended up in the hands of UCLA star LB Myles Jack.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
