The Ohio State Buckeyes knew that life with senior quarterback Braxton Miller was going to be tough but they did get a chance to see the future of Ohio State football now. Redshirt Freshman J.T. Barrett overcame a rocky two-and-a-half quarters, which saw Ohio State score just six points, to lead the Buckeyes to a 34-17 victory over the Navy Midshipmen to start their 2014 campaign. Barrett finished the day completing 12-of-15 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and one interception; one of those passes was an 80-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith.

The raucous Navy crowd got behind their defense early as Ohio State struggled on their first two possessions accumulating only 49 yards on 12 plays. Ohio State was in good position with a 1st-and-10 at the Navy 34-yard line on their second drive but Barrett could not get rid of the ball before being sacked by Paul Quessenberry for a loss of nine. This sack coupled with a holding call on third down forced Ohio State to attempt a field goal after their gain of 16 yards on third-and-21 came up short. A 46-yard kick from freshman Sean Nuernberger was good putting Ohio State up 3-0 late in the first quarter.

Navy came out during their second drive and moved the ball like a hot knife through butter. The option offense was working well as Ryan Williams-Jenkins and Keenan Reynolds each had big runs on the first two plays of the drive. As they advanced into Buckeye territory and the field got smaller, so did the runs for Navy but they were able to push into the red zone with the help of a rare pass. Junior DeBrandon Sanders would get the touchdown on a fourth-and-goal attempt from the one-yard line; the extra point was good and with that Navy took a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter. Both teams exchanged punts on their next possessions.

J.T. Barrett would have his best showing on the ensuing Ohio State drive. After three runs which would net 13 yards, Barrett started feeling comfortable in the passing game completing his next four passing including a 30-yard pass to Dontre Wilson to get the Buckeyes inside the Navy 10-yard line. His next pass though would not be as good as he threw an interception on a short pass.

Barrett would be bailed out by his defense though as Navy could not get anything going backed up to their own end zone. The punt from Pablo Beltran just barely made it over the 50 and Ohio State was in prime field position after an 11-yard return. Running back Curtis Samuel took a lion's share of the carries on the next drive as Urban Meyer thought it best for the psyche of his young quarterback to keep the ball on the ground. Ohio State would get as close as the 4-yard line before being turned away by the defense. Sean Nuernberger would convert on a 28-yard field goal to bring the score to 7-6 Navy.

There was still time for the Midshipmen after getting the ball back with two minutes remaining in the half. Keenan Reynolds ran the option two-minute offense to perfect using all three timeouts and still getting Navy into field goal range junior kicker Nick Sloan. Sloan missed the kick and a golden chance to put more distance between themselves and the Buckeyes. The half would end with the score of 7-6 in favor of the home side.

Navy did receive the kickoff to start the second half. They came out firing with two big runs on the first two players covering 35 yards and moving the ball in Ohio State territory. Ohio State though would get their big break of the game after Darron Lee returned a Navy fumble 61 yards for a touchdown. This would be the first of two mistakes made by Navy that would eventually cost them the game.

The Midshipmen answered back quickly on a short four-play, 84 yard drive capped off by a Keenan Reynolds one-yard touchdown run. The drive was made possible by a 67-yard scamper from senior Ryan Williams-Jenkins who finished with 118 yards rushing on seven carriers. Navy regained the lead at 14-13.

Once again both teams failed on their next drives; Ohio State turning the ball over on downs and Navy gaining three yards on eight plays. It would be the next Ohio State drive that would put the nail in the coffin. The second critical mistake from Navy in the form of a blown defensive coverage allowing J.T. Barrett to hit a wide-open Davin Smith for an 80-yard touchdown. Sean Nuernberger's extra point was good and the Buckeyes took back the lead at 20-14.

Despite being down by six points to the fifth-ranked team in the country, Navy did not panic. They continued to run the ball effectively moving 61 yards on 11 plays setting up a 32-yard field goal for Nick Sloan to bring Navy back to within three points at 20-17.

Urban Meyer opted for another slow, methodical, old-school Big Ten drive running the ball on 9-of-10 plays. They ticked 5:00 off the clock and to add insult to injury scored on a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott to extend the lead to 10 points with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.

The Buckeye defense held Navy to a three-and-out before marching down the field on an eight-play, 70 yard drive sapping 4:48 off the clock. The final score coming on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas with just over two minutes remaining.

Ohio State returns to Ohio Stadium next Saturday for a big game against perennial ACC power Virginia Tech on ESPN. Navy hits the road for the short bus ride up to Philadelphia to face off with Temple in an afternoon kick available on ESPN3.