Ohio State did make the most of similar bulletin-board material before its game against Oklahoma in September. A backup Sooners quarterback described Ohio State’s defense as basic.
“Somebody in the past said something about our defense, and we saw how that went,” Barrett said. “That’s how we feel about that. We’re okay. If you want to talk, that’s okay. We still have to go play the game.”
Barrett’s comments came at Fiesta Bowl Media Day at the Camelback Inn. The No. 3 Buckeyes (11-1) play No. 2 Clemson (12-1) in the College Football Playoff semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday. Here are some other highlights of Barrett’s press conference:
• On whether he expects it to be a high-scoring game: “I think our defense is going to do a great job. I think we’re going to do our part in order to win a game. So honestly I’m not sure. It could be either. It could be a high-scoring game where both offenses are on attack mode, and it also could be one of those low-scoring games where the defense is honing in.”
• On the injury two years ago that caused him to miss the playoffs: “It was one of those things. I couldn’t do anything about it, you know what I’m saying? It wasn’t like I was skateboarding and I fell off the curb or something. I was playing in a game trying to help us win a football game. And my ankle broke.”
• On what makes this team so special: “The Buckeyes we have here right now, I think we have a great bond. There’s a lot of love and passion throughout the players that we have and understanding that the guys will do anything for one another, which is something that you need as the season goes forward in times and games like this where it gets kind of tight.”
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