Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett set single-season school records for total offense and touchdown passes Saturday as the Buckeyes downed Indiana, 42-27.
The final score was a bit deceiving. Ohio State trailed 20-14 midway through the third quarter and led just 21-20 heading into the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes were ranked sixth in the most recent College Football Playoff selection committee's top 25. Indiana lost for the eighth time this season and had lost all but one of its previous six Big Ten games by at least 22 points.
Barrett finished 25-of-35 for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 78 yards. He now has 33 TD passes, breaking the Ohio State record of 30 set by Troy Smith in 2006, when he won the Heisman. Barrett also has 3,507 yards of total offense; the school record had been 3,310 by Braxton Miller last season. Barrett's strong play this season has led to questions about whether Miller -- who has missed this season with a shoulder injury -- will return to Ohio State for his fifth season next fall.
Indiana's Tevin Coleman came in second in the nation in rushing (167.8 yards per game) and had 228 yards and three TDs against the Buckeyes, including a 90-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave the Hoosiers the 21-20 lead. It was the longest run by an IU player since 1912 and the longest run allowed by Ohio State since 1960.
Barrett now has been responsible for 42 touchdowns this season, and Saturday was the seventh time this season he has accounted for at least four.
It was Ohio State's 21st consecutive win over Indiana and IU's 28th loss in a row to a team ranked in the top 10 of The Associated Press poll.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
