Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett? Why Ohio State QB Battle Will Linger

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Cardale Jones insists he didn't find out he would be Ohio State's starting quarterback until the last possible moment.

Standing on the sideline as the Buckeyes defense forced a three-and-out on its first series of the season against Virginia Tech on Monday night, Jones claims he still didn't know whether it would be him or J.T. Barrett who would lead the OSU offense onto the field.

As both he and Barrett stepped into the Buckeyes huddle, doubt crept into Jones' mind.

"I started to take a couple of steps to the sideline," he said.

It proved to be his first mistake of the night.

As Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer signaled in his team's first offensive play, he called for Jones—not Barrett—to remain on the field with the first-team offense. "When you found out, I find out," Jones said.

With that, the most talked-about quarterback competition in college football finally received some clarity as Jones went on to lead Ohio State to a 42-24 victory over the Hokies. But while the Buckeyes were certainly thrilled to escape Blacksburg with a win, Ohio State's quarterback situation remains anything but settled.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

With a 9-for-18, 186-yard, two-touchdown, one-interception passing performance, Jones put together the least impressive game of his college career, which at this point still just consists of four starts—all Buckeyes victories.

Even with an additional 99 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Jones failed to assert himself as Ohio State's undisputed starter moving forward, thanks in large part to an inconsistent first half that saw the Buckeyes fall behind 17-14 heading into the break.

At halftime, Meyer told both sideline reporters from ESPN and the Ohio State Radio Network that he would consider inserting Barrett into the game after the high-powered Buckeyes went scoreless in the second quarter.

The three-time national champion head coach ultimately stuck with Jones through the third quarter as Ohio State recaptured a 28-17 lead on the back of two big touchdowns from quarterback-turned-wideout Braxton Miller, including a 54-yard throw from Jones to open the second half.

Barrett would enter the game in the fourth quarter with the game already in hand, running for 40 yards on his only rushing attempt and connecting with Michael Thomas for a 26-yard touchdown on his only pass.

After the game, Meyer admitted that his decision to stick with Jones with the game still on the line was a difficult one, given the precedent for a short leash he would have been setting so early in the season.

"There's really no formula," Meyer said. "You can't have too many people's input because all it does is confuse the situation."

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

But even though he was rewarded for his patience on Monday night, the reality is that every time the OSU offense stalls, heads will begin to turn both to and from the Buckeyes sideline—sometimes including Meyer's. Between Jones and Barrett, Ohio State will always have a viable option both on the field and on the bench, an admittedly unique dynamic that Jones is well aware of.

"I don't think the battle is over," Jones said. "I'm not even sure who will start Saturday [against Hawaii]."

Meyer wouldn't go that far, although he did admit that he'd "expect more" than what he got from Jones against the Hokies on Monday night. But his reasoning behind selecting the national-champion-winning quarterback over the 2014 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year did perhaps provide some insight into his thought process moving forward.

As the reigning champion following three postseason victories to close out the 2014 campaign, Jones needed to be beat out in a decisive finish to end up back on the bench. And in the eight months—and now one game—since his run to the national title, that hasn't happened yet.

"I started thinking, for him not to take the first snap, he had to get beat out. And he wasn't beat out," Meyer said. "It was very close, but we got two good players and they're going to play."

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

How much each will play and in what capacity remains to be seen, but for now, the job is Jones' to lose. And while Meyer admitted he'll continue to handle the situation with caution, he also stated what's best for the Buckeyes will always come first.

Monday, that meant leaving Jones in at crunch time.

The next time could yield a different result.

"There might come a time we have to do that," Meyer said of inserting Barrett into the game. "This journey is going to be interesting. I’ve got to make sure that I’m not screwing it up."

So far, so good.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.