Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was carted off the field Saturday with an injury early in the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes' 42-28 win over longtime rival Michigan. The school announced after the game that Barrett suffered a season-ending right ankle fracture and will have surgery Sunday.
Barrett was injured on a second-and-1 run on the first play of the fourth quarter. His lower left leg was placed in an air cast before he was taken off in a cart.
Barrett had scored two rushing touchdowns and thrown a touchdown pass. His first touchdown of the day, a TD pass in the first quarter, was the 43rd he had accounted for this season, a Big Ten single-season record. The previous record-holder was former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees.
Ohio State already had qualified for next weekend's Big Ten championship game and the starting quarterback will be sophomore Cardale Jones, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder who has 26 rushing attempts and 17 pass attempts this season. The Buckeyes ranked sixth in this week's College Football Playoff selection committee top 25 and have a shot at a playoff berth.
The win finishes off a third consecutive unbeaten regular season in Big Ten play for the Buckeyes. Urban Meyer is the first Big Ten coach to go undefeated in regular-season conference play three seasons in a row.
Ohio State beat Michigan 42-41 last season, and this is the first time in the history of the rivalry that a team has scored 40 points in back-to-back games.
While the final margin was 14 points, it was a bit misleading. Ohio State led 28-21 before scoring twice in a minute late in the fourth quarter. Michigan scored its final TD with 1:15 left.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
