COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The play-making J.T. Barrett showed up in both of Ohio State's last two games.

He won the Penn State game with a perfect fourth quarter, completing all 13 passes for 170 yards, including some risky throws into coverage. And he helped lose the Iowa game with some risky throws into coverage.

Playmaking Barrett went 1-1 in those games.

A Barrett reluctant or unable to make those type of throws, throws that aren't just checkdowns or an occasional deep ball over the top, intermediate throws that are more likely to be intercepted?

That Barrett very well may have gone 1-1 in those games as well, just in reverse.

That Barrett may have been unable to engineer an 11-point comeback against a top-10 team, but may have settled into an expected victory over the 20-point underdog Hawkeyes.

Here's the thing about making plays. You don't just make them. You try to make them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You want a playmaker, you get him both ways.

Against Iowa, apparently it was a problem.

"A lot of it was just trying to make a play instead of letting the guys around me make those plays," Barrett said. "It was one of those things early I didn't feel that way, but as we went down it was one of those things, I'm trying to make a play. So it's really being down, trying to make something happen, make a momentum shift, rally the guys, things like that, and it didn't turn out."

Tuesday after practice, Barrett spoke for the first time since the 55-24 loss at Iowa, a low-key session of just under nine minutes that offered the same media version of Barrett as always -- not too high, not too low, just there in the moment.

He agreed with some theory of the connection between the playmaking Barrett of both games.

"There's a little bit to that," Barrett said, "but I think it's just more knowing when those times are to take those chances."

The Penn State fourth quarter was such a time. The Iowa first half less so.

"We're in a position early where I didn't have to press the issue like I did," Barrett said. "With that, (it's) just understand the situation."

The play that bothered Urban Meyer the most against Iowa was this throw in a two-minute drill before halftime with the Buckeyes down a touchdown.

"I felt like he forced it, especially right before the half," Meyer said. "That was a devastating one."

Meyer talked previously about Iowa was baiting Barrett into throws, and you can see cornerback Josh Jackson read Barrett's eyes on that play and break off his deep coverage, leaving that to an over-the-top safety. He jumped the route to Marcus Baugh instead.

But look at this throw against Penn State, one Barrett squeezed in between coverage in the final six minutes. if Barrett is picked off here, the game is probably over. And he almost is intercepted -- but not quite.

Instead, it's a bold and necessary throw.

This was down 11 with five minutes left in the game. The Iowa interception was down 7 with less than two minutes left in the first half.

Certainly a different situation, and that's the primary point. But the success of playmaker Barrett against Penn State may have emboldened the playmaker to carry that to Iowa City.

"I was just pressing too much," Barrett said, "especially after throwing that pick early and just understanding where we're at as far as situations on the field. So I just got away from those things, but (I'll) get back to it."

Expect that against Michigan State. That's probably for the best, and it's how Barrett has played most of his career.

"I've just got to do a better job of checking the ball down and getting it to our guys to be able to make plays," Barrett said. "Even if it's for 4 or 5 yards, (on) first, second down, that's still positive yards."

That sounds familiar. But actually, Iowa was taking away short and medium-range throws to such a degree, more deep balls, not more checkdowns, may have been the better answer. Barrett hit a couple of those, and just missed another to Terry McLaurin with an underthrow that McLaurin still maybe could have caught.

But Barrett returns to his more conservative ways, the Buckeyes likely could create a gameplan built around running and conservative throws that could win.

That just wouldn't have saved the Penn State game. And the connection between that win and the Iowa loss is there, at least a little bit.