Game Preview: Ohio State vs Iowa

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Ohio State returns home after taking care of business on the road against Michigan State, and comes into this game with a 4-0 record. From the outside looking in, this might be a trap game as we all know what is looming in Eugene next weekend, but if Ohio State can stay the course and focus on the opponent in front of them, they should be able to make it to 5-0, and have a top 10 showdown against the Ducks.
 
The Hawkeyes are looking to pull of the upset, and try to keep themselves in the Big Ten Championship game contention. They are 1-0 in Big Ten play, and wont play a ranked team the rest of the season, avoiding playing Michigan, Penn State and USC. On top of that, Kirk Ferentz is looking to secure his 200th win as a head coach, and nothing would be sweeter than to spoil the Buckeyes’ dream season.
 
Iowa’s defense has been excellent so far, ranked 15th in the nation in points allowed and 18th in yards allowed per game. The Hawkeyes are giving up just 62 rushing yards per game, just behind the 61.8 allowed by the Ohio State defense.
 
The game will kickoff at 3:30pm on CBS. Ohio State will break out their alternate all gray uniforms that it wore last year against Michigan State. They will also honor at halftime the 2024 Ohio State Hall of Fame Class, which will include former AD Gene Smith, basketball star Greg Oden, and the electric Braxton Miller. 

Know The Opponent:

Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (26th season)
2024 Record: 3-1
Conference: Big Ten
Location: Iowa City, IA

Ohio State Preview

Ohio State prepares for its second conference game of the season, and looking for its 5th win before traveling out west to take on Oregon. Each game has increased in competitive level, and the Hawkeyes will be the toughest challenge to date for the Buckeyes. They know they will have to play sound defense to limit the big plays, and control the line of scrimmage on the offense against a team that has been stout since 2012. 
 
“It will be the best coached defense that we’ll face all season long,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “They make you earn everything you get.”
 
Kelly might not get as many bathroom breaks in this game as he might have be attentive to how to challenge the front 7 for Iowa. This game will be a good test as well not only for Oregon next week, but also Penn State in a few weeks, and then Michigan at the end of the year, who both have defenses that make you earn every inch.
 
Will Howard leads the charge on offense, having passed for 1039 yards through 4 games, and has 8 touchdowns to 2 interceptions, one each the last two games. He has not needed to do much still with his legs, but has had a rushing touchdown in each of the last 3 games, along with 36 yards rushing. 
 
Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Hnderson continue to be one of the best duos in the country, rushing for 390 yards and 5 touchdowns, and 276 yards and 4 touchdowns respectively. James Peoples has been about to out carry TreVeyon thanks to the leads Ohio State has been able to hold, and has 32 carries for 141 yards with 2 touchdowns. Hopefully we will get to see Peoples in the game as the Buckeyes will want to have a secure enough lead to rest their starters.
 
Stop me if you have heard this before but Jeremiah Smith is really good. He leads the team with 19 catches for 364 yards and 5 receiving touchdowns. Last week against the Spartans, he had a sweep rushing play that went for 19 yards and a touchdown. He is already knocking at sever freshman records in Ohio State history. Emeka Egbuka had a few drops last week, but was a monster with and without the ball in his hands receiving and in the blocking game. He has 21 catches for 362 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carnell Tate is still holding strong as the third receiver with 14 catches for 219 yards and a touchdown. It will be interesting to see if he will have a breakout game here soon if teams try to double Smith and Egbuka.

Iowa Preview

The Hawkeyes enter this game coming off of a bye week, and boasting a 3-1 record. They started off the season in the top 25, but dropped after losing to Iowa State in week 2 20-19, but have bounced back and taken care of business against Troy and Minnesota to move to 1-0 in conference play. This isn’t Kirk Ferentz’s first rodeo against the Buckeyes and has a 2-9 record as Iowa’s head coach, but their last win in Columbus was in 1991. Ferentz knows the challenge in front of his time as they look to try and end that streak.
 
“Needless to say, they’re balanced, and they have good talent at all positions. It’s not like you can load up in any one area, you just have to play great team defense. It’s probably the only way you have a chance to slow them down.”
 
Michigan transfer Cade McNamara is the starting quarterback, and has passed for 588 yards with 3 touchdowns ans 2 interceptions this season. The Hawkeyes got rid of Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator at the end of last season, but so far they have not shown a potent passing game through the first 4 games, outside of play actions passes and bootlegs. 
 
Its not secret that the strength of the Hawkeye offense though is their run game, and that is led by Ohio native Kaleb Johnson. So far this season, he has rushed for 685 yards, which is second most in the county, and tied for 3rd with 9 touchdowns. The junior running back was not shy about this game, and will come back home to Ohio with a chip on his shoulder. “Even if they offered me, I wouldn’t have went,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “I want to beat them. That’s my goal.”
 
The top receivers are a mix of both wide receivers and tight ends, with receiver Jacob Gill leading the way with 13 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. A name that should be familiar for Buckeyes fans is Luke Lachey, son of Buckeye great Jim Lachey, and he is second on the team with 12 catches for 97 yards. Tight End Addison Ostrenga is the third led pass catcher with 11 actaches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Buckeye Spotlight

Cody Simon. The captain and block 0 recipient will have to be heavily involved in this game, and will be the key to slowing down the Iowa rushing attack. When Ohio State played Iowa in 2022, Tommy Eichenberg had a big game, and Simon should have a similar type of role in this one. 

Hawkeye Spotlight

Kaleb Johnson. The running back has the power and running ability similar to a blend of Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum, so this will be a big game for the Buckeyes to slow him down. 

Water Cooler Stat of the Game

40-3. Ryan Day is now 40-3 against Big Ten opponents, with the only losses coming against Michigan the past three seasons. He was the second fastest coach to reach 60 wins two weeks ago, and looking to move to 41-3 in conference play.

Prediction

The Buckeyes have their final tune up before the Oregon game next week, and one thing Ryan Day has done well at since taking over as Ohio State is not losing to a unranked opponent, and having an upset game like Urban had with Purdue in 2018, and Iowa in 2017. I know they will be focused for this one, and know the challenge that the Hawkeyes defense will bring to this game. I also anticipate that Iowa will try to keep the ball out of the hands of the Buckeyes as much as they can, so they will have a heavy does of run game and short passes to try and keep the Silver Bullets honest. I think the talent though is too much, and Chip Kelly will have a few tricks up his sleeve and Ohio State moved to 5-0.

Ohio State 42 – Iowa 10

Photo Credit: David Petkiewicz | Cleveland.com

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