JT Barrett's Ankle Injury Puts Ohio State's Playoff Chances in Serious Jeopardy

Ohio State's College Football Playoff hopes now rest firmly on the shoulders of a sophomore quarterback with 19 career pass attempts to his name and whose role this season has pretty been that of human victory cigar and nothing more.

Cardale Jones entered the Buckeyes' fierce Big Ten rivalry game against the Michigan Wolverines in the fourth quarter after starter J.T. Barrett suffered a gruesome leg injury, per ESPN College Football:

The Big Lead's Michael Shamburger provided a look at the play, which saw Barrett's leg get caught under a defender and bend at a seemingly unnatural angle:

The injury will prematurely end Barrett's phenomenal season, per MLive.com's Brendan F. Quinn:

Jones came into the game with his team up, 28-21, and calmly commandeered his side for two drives—not including the perfunctory kneel downs to end the game—en route to a crucial 42-28 victory.

With a place in the Big Ten title game already guaranteed, Jones will likely have to lead the Buckeyes to a convincing win if they are to have any shot at making the inaugural College Football Playoff. This is a tall task for Jones, as following up Barrett is no easy feat.

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Ohio State came into the Michigan game ranked sixth in the CFP rankings. Even with Barrett, the Buckeyes would have needed a strong finish to the season and perhaps a couple of upsets in other conferences. With Jones starting, the situation could be dire.

NBC 4's Matt Barnes believes the committee will be watching him closely:

Thanks to a big 44-yard scoring run from Ezekiel Elliot and an aggressive Buckeyes defense, Jones didn't have much to do on Saturday to wrap things up. He finished the game with two completions for seven yards and two carries for 18 yards. It was encouraging to say the least, but cooking up a win from scratch in a conference championship is another entity entirely.

As long as Florida State, Alabama and Oregon avoid choking during rivalry week and win their conference championships, the Buckeyes will be vying for a fourth and final playoff spot with the likes of TCU, Baylor and Mississippi State.

Heading into Saturday's slate, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver gave the Buckeyes a 42.2 percent chance of making the playoff, with TCU likely the biggest impediment due to their wildly successful offense.

However, an unheralded player like Jones stepping into a team's biggest game of the season would arguably be a more impressive achievement than anything TCU (or Baylor) can accomplish at this point, considering the Big 12 does not have a conference championship.

Barrett's story was already quite remarkable, as he wasn't named the starter until just a couple of weeks before the season began as it became clear Braxton Miller would be unable to play with his shoulder injury. Jones stepping in and stepping up is just an extension of Ohio State's wild ride.

ESPN 850's Bruce Hooley does see Jones having success in coach Urban Meyer's system:

Jones' best showing came in a 55-14 win over Illinois, when he completed five of nine passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 18 yards on the ground. Jones was in the game because Barrett was nursing a mild MCL sprain, per Cleveland.com's Bill Landis.

It wasn't a perfect performance by any means, but quarterbacks coach Tom Herman had a positive assessment of the untested signal-caller after the game.

PAUL VERNON/Associated Press

"I don't know if I've learned anything earth-shattering, other than the confidence we have in him, that he instilled in us in practice, that's pretty real, save for the first few kind of jittery plays," he said, via Landis.

He also put up 69 total yards in short order against a lowly Kent State squad this season. It's not bad, but it's nothing like what Barrett has done this season for Ohio State.

His six touchdown passes against Kent State were marvelous, as were his four total touchdowns and 191 rushing yards against Minnesota on Nov. 15. That game elicited Heisman mentions from Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman:

The Buckeyes are slated to play the winner of the Minnesota-Wisconsin matchup. Both teams are currently ranked in the Top 25, so a strong performance from Jones would prove that Ohio State is indeed one of the more well-rounded teams in the country and wasn't relying solely on the magical exploits of Barrett. 

As College Football Talk's Kevin McGuire noted on Nov. 24, the Buckeyes have done plenty as a program to merit consideration:

"

Ohio State has won two games on the road against teams the College Football Playoff committee has ranked in their most recent playoff rankings, Michigan State and Minnesota. The Buckeyes are third best in the country in third-down conversions. Ohio State has a higher red zone touchdown percentage than any other team in the playoff discussion today. Only Alabama is ranked ahead of Ohio State in total defense among playoff contenders as well.

"

Even if Jones leads the Buckeyes to a big win, there is still no guarantee they make the playoff. The playoff committee will be splitting hairs no matter what, and they could be swayed by the SEC West's pedigree or the offensive success of Baylor and TCU.

There can be no drop-off for Ohio State, who have done well to put an embarrassing Week 2 loss to Virginia Tech well behind them. 

No matter how well or how poorly Jones plays this season, don't expect him to be in the running for a starting role next year. Barrett should have the inside edge on that assuming his injury isn't completely devastating, while Miller should be highly motivated to reclaim his starting role.