PUSKAS: Congestion has Meyer shooting daggers

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Urban Meyer is looking for a photographer, but — shutterbugs beware — the Ohio State head coach isn’t in the market for a family portrait.

It’s scary to think what Meyer, incensed over an apparent pregame injury to J.T. Barrett, might want to do to the mystery cameraman he alleges banged into his quarterback’s knee moments before the Buckeyes’ first offensive series Saturday.

“It was a non-football injury — there were too many damn people on the sideline,” said an enraged Meyer. “A guy with a camera hit him in the knee. I’m going to find out who [it was].”

There isn’t a great deal of space between the edge of the field at Michigan Stadium and the brick facade of the west stands.

Meyer said Ohio State staffers on the sideline approached him about Barrett right before the opening kickoff.

“I looked over and he’s down,” Meyer said.

Barrett, who left Ohio State’s 31-20 victory after his knee locked up for the second time, confirmed something happened as he was getting loose before the Buckeyes’ first series.

Barrett couldn’t confirm a camera was involved, although he mentioned that the mystery man was wearing gray and all the credentialed photographers on the field at Michigan Stadium on Saturday sported gray smocks with the Michigan logo on them.

“I didn’t see a camera,” said Barrett, who revealed that the collision aggravated a knee problem that has plagued him since the Buckeyes’ opener against Indiana on Aug, 31.

Barrett got to his feet and acted out the twisted-knee drama on the dais during his postgame news conference.

“OK, this is our bench,” he said, gesturing to the edge of a table. “I went to throw and someone tried to squeeze between me and the bench and that’s when my knee buckled. But I was able to pop it into place and I was OK.”

Until that third-quarter keeper.

“I’m so angry right now,” Meyer said. “I’ve got to move on. I’m angry that I let that happen. ... In a major college football game. Think about that.”

NOT A GREAT START

Barrett indeed started, but both he and Ohio State struggled early and the Buckeyes went without a first down, had -6 yards and trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter.

But the senior quarterback rallied the Buckeyes to a tie at 14 by halftime with a 21-yard touchdown run and a 25-yard TD pass to tight end Marcus Baugh.

But the knee locked up on him during a third-quarter drive after the Wolverines had taken their last lead, 20-14. Barrett’s final play was a 10-yard keeper.

Enter redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins, who stepped in and helped Ohio State complete a game-changing 11-play, 78-yard drive.

Billy Price, the Buckeyes fifth-year senior center from Austintown, calls Haskins “a freak athlete” and Barrett’s backup showed why with a 27-yard completion to his roommate, wideout Austin Mack, on third-and-13 for a first down at Michigan’s 26. Moments later, he kept the ball around the right side and raced 22 yards to the Wolverines’ 1.

“I thought I scored,” said Haskins, who sprawled for the pylon and was bumped out by Lavert Hill.

No matter. True freshman running back J.K. Dobbins scored on the next play to give Ohio State its first lead in a game in which its fans expected total domination.

Haskins helped put the Buckeyes in scoring position on each of the four possessions he played. Ohio State’s last four drives went: touchdown, Dan Nuernberger field goal, missed field goal and Mike Weber touchdown.

FIVE PAIRS OF PANTS

Price will end his career with five pairs of gold pants and a 4-0 record in games he has played against Michigan. One of Ohio State’s storied traditions is the awarding of the gold pants pendants to players after every Buckeyes victory over the Wolverines.

Price was asked if his last Michigan game was the most meaningful because of the degree of difficulty. He pointed to the 2016 game Ohio State won 30-27 in Columbus instead.

“Last year’s was a lot harder,” Price said. “This one was a tough and gritty game,” Price said. “You don’t know with this rivalry. They have a very talented front seven with two guys who are highly likely to be in the NFL.

“We had good preparation and a good work week, the Fitch High School graduate said. “There are a lot of distractions with a holiday weekend and a lot things going on around the country. But you’ve just got to stay focused and just get the job done. Then you can go into a game like this and let it all out.

“That’s what makes it fun about the rivalry. These games are always great.”

DON’T CALL IT A SLUMBER

Meyer was already peeved about the circumstances of Barrett’s injury when a Columbus TV reporter asked him how the Buckeyes’ came out of their early slumber.

“It’s not a slumber,” Meyer said. “Slumber? Absolutely not. We’re playing a good football team — one of the best defenses in the country on their home turf. You go ask those players how they feel. They gave everything they’ve got.

“So I disagree with you very vehemently and [I’m] somewhat pissed. We’re playing our balls off against a very, very good team and we hung in there for four quarters. Name a rivalry when it’s not like that.”

YOU TELL HIM THAT

Baseball writer Peter Gammons tweeted Saturday that Meyer now has more wins over Michigan (6) than he did extra-base hits (5) in two years — 44 games — as a minor-league shortstop in the Atlanta Braves system.

NOTABLE

Barrett finished 3 of 8 for 30 yards, with most of that coming on his pass to Baugh. He ran for 67 yards on 15 carries. He said he’d be ready to play against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night in Indianapolis. ... Haskins made his case as Ohio State’s QB of the future, completing 6 of 7 passes for 94 yards. He also ran three times for 24 yards. ... Dobbins ran for 101 yards on 15 attempts. He has four 100-yard games in his first season with the Buckeyes. ... After compiling negative yardage in the first quarter, Ohio State ended up outgaining Michigan 350-295 in total yards, including 226-100 on the ground.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.