Why Cardale Jones Will Be Ohio State's Secret Weapon Against Alabama

Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones will enter Thursday's Sugar Bowl matchup against Alabama with one career start under his belt.

At first glance, that appears to be a big advantage for the Crimson Tide. But with four weeks to prepare, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes coaching staff have had the time to turn Jones into their secret weapon. 

The 6'5", 250-pound redshirt sophomore fell to No. 3 on the Buckeyes' depth chart during fall camp, but season-ending injuries to Braxton Miller (preseason) and J.T. Barrett (against Michigan) thrust Jones into the spotlight. With six days of preparation, Jones was able to take over the starting duties and execute Ohio State's game plan to perfection in a 59-0 demolition of Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. 

That's the only usable film Alabama has on a quarterback it needs to stop in order to reach the national title game. With the meticulous way Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart prepare, that lack of film is an issue.

The Dangerous Unknown

Credit: David Regimbal

Jones was brilliant in his first career start, completing 70.6 percent of his passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns against no interceptions. While his stats were gaudy, Jones truly wasn't asked to do much, attempting just 17 passes as the Buckeyes ran on 69.6 percent of their plays from scrimmage.

Despite Jones' easy workload, the Buckeyes still managed to carve up the nation's second-ranked defense, averaging 9.9 yards per play on their way to 558 total yards of offense. Ohio State was devastatingly effective, yet it still provided Alabama very little to work with in the scouting department. 

"He's a mystery," Alabama safety Nick Perry said of Jones, according to Trey Iles of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans. "Really don't know exactly what all he can do or what kind of offense they're going to have come game time so we're just preparing for everything and anything." 

That's not ideal for any team, let alone one coached by Saban. Alabama is a defensive juggernaut in part because of the way it prepares for the team it's facing. With Jones at the helm, the Tide will have to make adjustments and react to what the Buckeyes show them throughout the game rather than their preferred method of knowing what's coming.

Smart talked about the difficulties that presents, according to Austin Ward of ESPN.com:

"

Well, not knowing how [Jones] reacts to different things would be the toughest thing. You don't know how he's going to react in certain situations. You haven't seen enough tape to know.  

That's probably the hardest thing for us to get prepared for is we're watching one quarterback (J.T. Barrett) in a lot of games, yet we're going to face a different quarterback. So knowing what they want to do with that guy makes it harder, tougher to get ready for. 

"

Still, this is an Alabama team that ranks 10th nationally in total defense and third in scoring defense. The Tide plan to put pressure on Jones and see if he has what it takes to stand in the pocket and deliver. 

"I know against us, he's going to have to do a lot of processing and a lot of thinking," Alabama safety Landon Collins said, according to Drew Champlin of AL.com. "We're definitely going to confuse him as much as possible." 

On the other side, Jones has watched plenty of film on Alabama's defense. He knows that the Tide don't need to get fancy because they execute so well. 

"There's been countless [hours], dating back to last year's Sugar Bowl, just trying to be prepared for any and everything," Jones said, via Ward. "It's not so much exotic, but I would say they're a schematic defense. They prepare for the team they play that week, and they change their looks to defeat that team's offense." 

Will Jones be ready for Alabama on New Year's Day? If you ask Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, there's no doubt at all. 

"I don't think there will be a moment in this game, or any future games, that he's not prepared for," Herman said, according to Nancy Armour of USA Today. 

If that's the case, Jones will be a nightmare for Alabama's defense. 

All stats via NCAA.com and B/R research. 

David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.