Ohio State vs. Iowa highlights a big week in the Big Ten. To this point, the Ohio State Buckeyes have passed every test thrown its way. At 4-0, Ryan Day’s squad is one of five unbeaten Big Ten programs in this young season and now, the Buckeyes must turn their attention to the Iowa Hawkeyes. To date, Ohio State owns a 47-15-3 record against Iowa, not including the vacated win in 2010. Day is 1-0 against Iowa whereas Kirk Ferentz, in his 26th season, is 2-9 against the Buckeyes (including 2010).
There are several keys to victory for Ohio State. Still, perhaps the biggest is not being caught looking ahead to the (expected) top-10 matchup in Eugene, Oregon against the Ducks on October 12. Iowa is a good football team and has shown Ohio State that fact in the past. In 2017, Iowa routinely thrashed Ohio State, 55-24. That game, albeit on the road, was sandwiched firmly between two ranked matchups with Penn State and Michigan State. It was the definition of a let-down game.
Day has done a great job in his time to avoid these kinds of trademarked Urban Meyer letdowns.
Ohio State vs. Iowa: Don’t Get Caught Looking Ahead, Buckeyes
Contain the Hawkeye Backs
Iowa has been known to have an elite defense, NFL tight ends, and underrated running backs in the Ferentz era. Not only is Kaleb Johnson having a career year, he’s been the best in the Big Ten. After four games, Johnson leads the conference with 685 yards and nine touchdowns. His 8.4 yards per rush is second only to TreVeyon Henderson‘s 8.9. Even more impressive is that Johnson has 51 more rushing attempts than Henderson.
However, something will have to give. Ohio State’s run defense has allowed just 61.8 yards per game, good for third-best in the nation. At the same time, the defense has been without Tyleik Williams clogging up the middle over the last two games. Day believes Williams will be back in action for Ohio State vs. Iowa after missing two-plus weeks with an undisclosed injury suffered in the Week 2 win over Western Michigan. The absence of Williams was felt over the last two weeks.
The defensive line will need to step up and limit the impact of Johnson and the Hawkeyes’ running backs. To this point, the linebackers have not been living up to expectations with many pointing the finger at the unit for the three touchdowns scored over the last two weeks. Cody Simon, Sonny Styles, and C.J. Hicks will need to step up in this one. Arvell Reese and Gabe Powers have played well in their limited roles and have been pushing the former highly-rated starters. There is a concern that if Ohio State has to play a more 4-3 type of approach, the linebackers will be exposed as they were against Michigan State.
Stay Explosive
As has been commonplace with Ohio State, the Buckeyes have one of the top offenses in the country. At eight yards per play, Ohio State slots in as the third-best offense in the country. The Buckeyes have amassed both yards and points in bunches this year but Iowa poses a much stiffer threat than anything Ohio State has faced to this point.
While the run game for Ohio State vs. Iowa will be a focal point for Day and Chip Kelly. Iowa’s run defense is just a tad worse than Ohio State’s by allowing just 62 yards per game, fourth-best in the country. Planning around and neutralizing the play of Jay Higgins will be paramount for the Buckeyes’ success.
Ohio State won’t abandon the run game if it isn’t working. At the same time, it may find more success through the air as this year’s secondary is a far cry from the secondary from the last few years. Iowa has allowed 210.8 yards per game through the air, situating it firmly in the middle of the nation at 66th-worst/69th-best.
Will Howard will be asked to lead Ohio State to victory in this one. The transfer has been solid for the Buckeyes thus far with 1,039 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 68.6 percent of his passes. It helps that he has Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith catching passes. Both Egbuka and Smith have exemplified home-run-hitting ability with the pair trading explosive plays. Ohio State defines “big plays” as passing plays that go for 15+ yards and rushing plays that go for 10+. Through four games, Egbuka has 11 big plays through the air with two touchdowns. Smith, meanwhile, has a combined 10 big plays with five touchdowns, including that 19-yard touchdown run from last week.
One Week at a Time
“Take it one week/game at a time.” It’s a saying about as cliché as any in sports. In college football, it’s the most crucial aspect of a coach. Each week, contenders are weeded out thanks to upsets. Last week, Ole Miss fell to Kentucky. Illinois was handed a bit of perspective in a fruitless trip to Penn State. Ohio State has to make sure it does not end up on one of these upset lists.
Iowa is as well-coached as any. Ferentz, no matter one’s opinion on his offenses or lack of Big Ten titles (two shared titles in 26 years), is a great coach and has given Iowa every opportunity to succeed.
Ohio State will break out alternate uniforms for the first time this year, opting for the all-gray look. Iowa will be the final test before Ohio State heads out to Oregon next week. Any slight possibility of being overlooked will be taken advantage of by the Hawkeyes. Day should have his team ready to fight from the jump.
