COLUMBUS, Ohio -- J.T. Barrett was so taken aback by the question that he had to hear it twice.

Is there any way that your knee injury could keep you from playing in this game?

"Are you talking about the next game against USC?" Barrett asked.

Yes.

Then a chuckle from Barrett, an eye roll and disbelief that anyone would think he wouldn't play when Ohio State and USC meet in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.

"I'm going to play," he said.

This wasn't fishing for the easy story line that will be around for every bowl season in perpetuity, the question of whether stars will sit out non-playoff bowl games with an eye toward being healthy for NFL Draft preparation.

This was a genuine question about the long-term health of Barrett's right knee, the one he had scoped nine days ago to remove a piece of torn meniscus. That typically requires a three-to-four week recovery process. Barrett played less than a week later, helping lead Ohio State to a Big Ten Championship.

Such a quick turnaround isn't unheard of, and to some extent it made sense that Barrett would want to give it a go with a championship ring on the line. He got his ring. Nobody would blame him if he didn't want to gut through it again in a bowl game that will come five weeks after the surgery. Barrett has made it clear -- the thought never crept into his mind.

He's intent on finishing out his Ohio State career against USC, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas -- about 130 miles from Barrett's hometown of Wichita Falls.

"If anything, I gotta start begging for tickets pretty soon knowing my mom's going to try to have the family reunion at the Cowboys Stadium," Barrett said.

Aside from being his final opportunity to be Ohio State's quarterback, the fifth-year senior wasn't going to miss out on a chance to play this close to home. It's too special.

Family and friends who maybe otherwise wouldn't get to see him play can come to Dallas and give him a send-off to whatever is going to come next for Barrett.

They didn't get that chance four years ago. Barrett was on a scooter, his right foot in a cast, the last time Ohio State played in Jerry Jones' football palace. His broken ankle kept him out of the Buckeyes' national championship win in Arlington that capped the 2014 season. Surely he had some extra supporters there. There are plenty of Buckeye fans in North Texas now thanks to Barrett.

They didn't get to see him play then. They will now.

"I never played in Cowboys Stadium, even in high school," Barrett said. "So the last time for me playing a football game in Texas was in high school. I think it will be good to be in the atmosphere and going against a team like USC, it will be good."

Barrett isn't going to oversell the moment. He's not prone to hyperbole, even if this is something cool.

If the game was in Idaho, he'd still be playing.

It would just be understandable if Barrett wanted to pass it off to Dwayne Haskins, let his knee recover fully and not push himself in this game the way he did in the Big Ten Championship.

But then that would be Barrett being someone he's not. And he doesn't want to go out that way.

"He's not had to prove anything anymore," Urban Meyer said. "I mean, when a trainer looks at me says it's 50/50. Automatically my mind goes 80/20. As it gets closer to the week and, boy, it's looking good -- 60 or 70 percent. OK, that's 100. He's a rare guy, rare breed. And so he doesn't need to prove anything else. We need to go find a way to win this bowl game."