Cardale Jones will remain Buckeyes' starting QB, Urban Meyer says

— -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There is no change to the top of the depth chart at quarterback for Ohio State.

Despite some rocky performances over the last two games, coach Urban Meyer will stick with Cardale Jones as his first-team option for the No. 1 Buckeyes heading into Saturday's matchup with Western Michigan.

"Cardale is going to start," Meyer said after practice Wednesday. "The other guy has to pass him, and that hasn't happened."

The other man in the heated two-man race has had chances to supplant Jones, but J.T. Barrett has struggled in his appearances off the bench and has not surpassed the redshirt junior who led the Buckeyes to a national title and maintained his lead on the practice field coming out of training camp.

Jones has started all three games for Ohio State, but Barrett came on in relief in the opener at Virginia Tech, replaced the starter for a stretch in Week 2 against Hawaii and played the entire second half in relief against Northern Illinois after coming off the bench in the second quarter.

Meyer acknowledged after the sloppy win over the Huskies that it might be time to commit more fully to one guy instead of playing both of his award-winning options, but he still left the door at least slightly open for Barrett if Jones has issues protecting the football after he threw two interceptions last week.

"He is the guy, unless he doesn't perform well," Meyer said. "But it's not him [causing scoring problems], it's the offense that's in a funk."