It's Now or Never for Cardale Jones as Ohio State's Starting Quarterback

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It looks like Cardale Jones is going to have to change his Twitter bio again.

But for how long Jones continues to lay claim to being Ohio State's starting quarterback remains to be seen.

What we do know is it will be Jones leading the Buckeyes offense onto the field this weekend when Ohio State hosts Western Michigan in its out-of-conference finale for the regular season.

Despite benching Jones for J.T. Barrett in the second quarter of the Buckeyes' too-close-for-comfort 20-13 win over Northern Illinois last weekend, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday the national championship-winning signal-caller will remain his team's starting quarterback for at least one more week.

"The other guy has to pass him," Meyer said of his decision to stick with Jones in the starting lineup. "And that hasn't happened."

Meyer's words could hardly be viewed as a vote of confidence in Jones, nor could the fact that in the moments following the Buckeyes' close call with the Huskies, the three-time national champion head coach couldn't commit to either quarterback. That led to Wednesday's proclamation that Jones would remain his starter, the third such announcement he's had to make in the past four weeks.

For what it's worth, Meyer's logic in his quarterback conundrum has remained consistent. In order for Barrett—the reigning Big Ten Quarterback and National Freshman of the Year—to show he belongs in the starting lineup, he'll need to prove it with his play.

"Someone has to beat someone out," Meyer said. "You don't anoint people. ... You have to earn things."

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That could be seen as an indictment of Barrett, who in two opportunities in the past two games has failed to provide a spark for a stagnant offense or pass Jones on the depth chart. But Meyer's continual need to reaffirm Jones as his No. 1 quarterback—without fully committing to him—is just as damning to his current starting quarterback.

It also makes one wonder how many chances the 6'5", 250-pounder will continue to receive, with so much of his starting status being based on not what he's done, but what Barrett has yet to do.

"He was the quarterback of the team when we finished the season last year," Meyer said of Jones. "He was the quarterback for spring practice, the only healthy one. And he finished training camp as the starting quarterback. And at times he's played very good, and at times he has not."

In the past two weeks, it's been more of the latter, as the OSU offense has looked sluggish in wins over Hawaii and Northern Illinois. Against the Rainbow Warriors, Jones returned after halftime from a second-quarter benching to finish with a stat line of 12-of-18 passing for 111 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. He then completed four of his nine attempts for 36 yards and two interceptions before being benched for Barrett against the Huskies.

For now, the only reason Jones appears to be remaining in the starting lineup is that in his absence, Barrett hasn't fared much better. The 6'2", 225-pounder completed eight of 15 attempts for 70 yards in relief duty against Hawaii and went 11-of-19 for 97 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Northern Illinois.

That wasn't enough for last season's fifth-place finisher in Heisman Trophy voting to unseat Jones, but Meyer isn't willing to close his quarterback competition just yet.

"It's close," Meyer said. "They're both working their tails off."

Based on how the past week has played out, it's only getting closer.

Steve Helber/Associated Press

Because while Meyer has laid out clear criteria for what it will take for him to make a switch in his starting lineup, not announcing his starter for the fourth game of the season until midway through the week shows that some indecisiveness is creeping in.

It's Meyer's preference for Jones to make the most of his opportunity and put an end to the quarterback conundrum himself, but if the projected first-round pick struggles for the third time in as many weeks, it's clear his head coach won't be shy to turn to the bench.

If he does, it could be for the last time. Meyer continues to say he won't hesitate to play the hot hand between Jones and Barrett, but there's only so much back-and-forth a coach can take at his most important position.

And as Big Ten season approaches, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Barrett soon flourish, following the record-breaking season he enjoyed as a freshman a year ago. After all, he's the quarterback with the longer track record and a history of lighting up the likes of Indiana and Maryland, whom the Buckeyes will face in the coming weeks.

But at the moment, the job remains Jones'. That, however, is hardly set in stone.

"He is the guy," Meyer said of Jones. "Unless he doesn't perform well."

On second thought, it might be best to leave that Twitter bio empty.

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.