Ohio State Football: Buckeyes win championships when they have QB issues

There are questions concerning the quarterback situation on the Ohio State football team but there were prior to championship seasons as well.

The quarterback situation on the Ohio State football team leads many to believe the Buckeyes won’t be serious contenders for a national title this season. Not so fast, it may be just as good or better than the QB situation prior to three national championship seasons.

Let’s first take a look at the prospect Woody Hayes would have a quarterback who could lead the Buckeyes to a national title heading into the 1968 season.

In 1967, the Buckeyes got off to a 2-3 start but pulled off 4 straight wins to finish 6-3. Starting quarterback Bill Long was returning but he only completed 44 of 102 passes for 563 yards and 2 touchdowns while throwing 4 interceptions.

Since freshman weren’t eligible to play in that era, nobody outside of the Ohio State football program knew what was about to take place when sophomore Rex Kern took over the offense. He shocked the college football world with his play and led the Buckeyes to the national title.

Heading into the 2002 season Craig Krenzel was beloved by Buckeye Nation because he led Ohio State to a victory in “The Game”, stopping Michigan’s dominance. But his stats weren’t overly impressive in 2001 and he didn’t see the field often.

Krenzel only completed 22 of 41 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. He also threw 3 interceptions.

Things may not have looked promising at the quarterback position prior to the 2002 season, at least as far as a national championship run for the Buckeyes, but it turned out pretty well didn’t it?

In June of 2014, things couldn’t have looked better. Braxton Miller was named the Big Ten Most Valuable Player the previous two seasons and was a Heisman favorite.

The shoulder injury he suffered late in 2013 appeared to be healing fine so that wouldn’t be an issue heading into the season. In the spring J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones were competing for the backup spot and the battle continued into fall camp.

Barrett won the job, and then “it happened”. Miller re-injured his shoulder and was lost for the season.

Did anybody believe Ohio State was a serious contender for the national title at that point? Barrett was now the starter without ever taking a snap in college and Jones had completed 1 of 2 passes during his Ohio State career.

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Barrett led the Buckeyes through the regular season and Jones brought the Championship Trophy home, with plenty of help from their buddies.

See, having an unproven and / or an inexperienced quarterback group doesn’t mean the Buckeyes can’t have a special season.

This year sophomore Justin Fields will be leading the way and he was the No. 2 overall recruit in 2018. And at least backups Chris Chugunov (45-95 for 551 yards and 3 touchdowns) and Gunnar Hoak (13-26, 126 yards and 2 scores) have game experience.

After having watched the quarterbacks mentioned above who led the Buckeyes to national titles, I’m excited to see what Fields will bring to the table. With the talent he has surrounding him, I think another first time starter could bring home another championship.