Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett sprints past Minnesota defenders to score on an 86-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

MINNEAPOLIS – How good has J.T. Barrett been this season? So good that you may not believe this stat:

Barrett is only four touchdowns away from breaking the Big Ten single-season record for most total touchdowns held by former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, who had 42 in 1998.

After another four-touchdown performance in Ohio State's 31-24 win over Minnesota, Barrett already broke Ohio State's single-season touchdowns record vs. the Gophers with 38.

Barrett finished with 200 yards passing and three touchdowns, and 189 yards rushing and an additional score. Here's a complete initial breakdown of Barrett's performance:

• It seems like Barrett does something every week that we didn't know he was capable of. Against Minnesota, it was the first touchdown he scored – an 86-yard run that he took to the house virtually untouched. It was the longest run for an Ohio State quarterback in the history of the program.

Ohio State lost a lot of natural athleticism with Braxton Miller's injury, and the last thing even Meyer probably expected out of Barrett was an 86-yard touchdown run. He went the majority of the way untouched, but we didn't know Barrett had the speed to outlast an entire defense that long.

• Barrett's a much more proficient runner than he was given credit for. Speed aside, he has good instincts, follows his blocks well and always seems to fight for extra yards. He isn't as natural of a runner as Miller, and he can't make people miss like that, but he is definitely an option to design runs around consistently.

• Barrett's pocket presence continues to be impressive. For a freshman, Barrett has an unparalleled comfort in the pocket and he always has a sense of where the pressure is coming from. And when it's on the way, Barrett avoids it well by keeping his eyes down field and the play alive.

A perfect example of this came on his 57-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Marshall. Barrett was in the pocket as it was beginning to collapse. He hung in there, then escaped at the last second, rolled and found a crossing Marshall with a perfectly placed pass. Marshall did the rest.

• It's crazy how much a turnover can change a game, and Barrett's interception on a deep route with the Buckeyes clinging to an early 14-0 lead is the perfect example.

Ohio State was controlling the game on the ground and was driving to potentially go up 21-0 when Corey Smith ran a "nine route" and seemed to have a good matchup for another big play. Barrett threw it deep, but it seemed overthrown by a good 5 yards before it was intercepted and returned more than 50 yards.

Though there's some question as to who deserves the blame on the turnover – it's possible Smith was in the wrong spot or didn't make it to the spot he was supposed to be – but it's just a reminder how a turnover can bring a team back. Minnesota ended up tying the game at 14 and keeping it close until the end of the third quarter.

It's also a reminder that for how impressive Barrett has been all season, the thing he probably deserves the most credit for is protecting the football. He made some freshman errors early on, but he has been tremendous taking care of the football.