Quarterback Cardale Jones was better but still not good enough.
Jones came through with an effective, although sometimes erratic, performance in throwing two touchdown passes and leading No. 1 Ohio State to a 38-12 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday.
Coach Urban Meyer said earlier this week that Jones was his starter despite two subpar performances that led to the quarterback’s benching against Northern Illinois on Sept. 16.
Jones was 19 of 33 for 288 yards, but hit only 6 of 14 in the second half when he threw his only interception. J.T. Barrett, who replaced Jones against Northern Illinois, came on in the final 6:34 and threw an interception on his first drive.
”Overall, I thought Cardale played okay,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. ”He threw for 288. I still give him the okay because we have high expectations.”
Jones started strong for the Buckeyes (4-0), who won their 17th straight game. He threw a 38-yard TD pass to Michael Thomas on Ohio State’s first series and added a 37-yard scoring pass to Jalin Marshall early in the second.
But he was called for intentional grounding at the Western Michigan 15 with 8 seconds left in the second quarter. The penalty brought an automatic 10-second runoff to end the half with OSU up 24-6.
Jones was also short on several long passes, one in the third quarter to Marshall in the end zone that resulted in an interception by Darius Phillips.
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