The Ohio State Buckeyes shook off a slow start and defeated Navy 34-17 on the road as J.T. Barrett had a promising start in his debut as the starting quarterback.
No. 5 Ohio State began life without quarterback Braxton Miller, who was expected to be a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy in a road matchup against Navy.
The Buckeyes clearly experienced growing pains as the offense started slowly and trailed Navy 14-13 in the third quarter, but they received a spark when starting quarterback J.T. Barrett threw his first touchdown pass of the season to Devin Smith, who ran for 80 yards.
After the Midshipmen pulled within three points, the Buckeyes scored two touchdowns to seal the game with a 34-17 victory. Barrett finished with 226 yards on 12-of-15 passing with a touchdown and an interception.
The running game performed solidly in the Buckeyes’ first game without Carlos Hyde as four running backs finished with at least 43 rushing yards, and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Barrett led the team with 50 rushing yards.
For the Midshipmen, dual-threat quarterback Keenan Reynolds was held in check as he only threw for 20 yards on 2-for-4 passing and rushed for just 42 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Ryan Williams-Jenkins led the team in rushing with 118 yards on seven carries.
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