The season of Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett has been cut short by injury.

With the No. 6 Buckeyes leading 28-21 early in the fourth quarter against rival Michigan, the Heisman Trophy candidate went down with a gruesome-looking injury to his lower right leg that has been diagnosed as a fractured ankle. Barrett was tackled from behind and his lower leg was caught underneath a defender as he was pulled to the ground awkwardly.

Barrett stayed down on the field for several minutes as an air cast was applied to his injured leg. The redshirt freshman was then carted off the field and into the locker room for further evaluation.

Before Barrett was lifted onto the cart, Michigan senior quarterback Devin Gardner showed great sportsmanship and wished his rival counterpart well.

Barrett took over as Ohio State’s starter after senior Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in preseason camp. He started the season off slow, but has been one of the nation’s best quarterbacks over the last few months.

Before leaving the game, Barrett threw for 176 yards and a touchdown while also running for 89 yards and two more scores. Entering Saturday’s game, Barrett threw for 2,658 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while running for 849 yards and nine more scores.

With Barrett sidelined, sophomore Cardale Jones – who started the season as the team’s third-string quarterback – now looks to be the man under center for the Buckeyes moving forward.

Jones was able to guide OSU to a 42-28 win over the Wolverines, but he will face a much tougher task against either Wisconsin or Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship Game on December 6.

For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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