Last week, the Hawkeyes defeated ranked Michigan in the Big House in one of the most memorable finishes in school history. Iowa City was buzzing all week as their Hawkeyes were 4-0, ranked No. 14, and had ESPN College GameDay coming to town for the first time in two decades. No. 5 Ohio State would be the toughest opponent they would face all season, but fans were confident that Iowa could shock the world and pitch a monumental win. With how big of a win the Michigan game was, and the rest of Iowa’s schedule seeming very manageable, Hawkeye fans went in with a nothing-to-lose attitude.
Well, except there was something to be lost: the game, and momentum.
This was the first time the Buckeyes had played in Kinnick Stadium since 2017, the game where unranked Iowa went on to pummel the No. 6 team in the nation 55-24 in a historic upset. Nine years later, this game was top of mind in the week leading up to kickoff, and we ended up getting a splash of deja vu from that contest. The first score of that game was a pick-six by the Hawkeyes defense. This time, an early turnover went against Iowa.
On the second play from scrimmage, Hank Brown, coming off a 91-yard game-winning drive over Michigan, stepped to his left, searching for an open man. He held onto the ball too long as Kenyatta Jackson Jr. sacked Brown and popped the ball loose. Ohio State recovered the fumble, setting them up inside the Hawkeyes’ 15-yard line. 55 seconds later, quarterback Julian Sayin hit an open Devin McCuin over the middle, who ran it in for a 15-yard TD to get on the board first.
Despite the horrible start, Iowa brushed it off and got back to work. It was clear that offensive coordinator Tim Lester put his trust in Hank Brown, throwing the ball much more than running the rock. They moved well downfield on their next two possessions, but the Buckeye defense held up and kept Iowa out of the endzone, where Caden Buhr hit a pair of field goals from over 40 yards. The first quarter expired with Ohio State out in front 10-6.
The second quarter opened up with a wild catch in traffic by Buckeyes All-American wideout Jeremiah Smith, who flew down the field for a huge 54-yard gain, flipping field position to the Iowa 21-yard line. It was obvious that Smith was going to be the playmaker to watch out for on Ohio State’s end. Despite the big play, Ohio State wasn’t able to capitalize, as Iowa’s defense immediately held firm and forced a fourth down. Kicker Connor Hawkins doinked the 40-yard attempt off the left crossbar, leaving an opportunity for Iowa to capture their first lead of the day.
But the Hawkeyes offense struggled beyond the opening quarter. A major reason for this is that it’s becoming clear Iowa is having an identity crisis in the run game. Through their first five games of the season, they have failed to eclipse 100 team rushing yards in three of them. The two games they did accomplish this milestone against were their two weakest opponents on the schedule, Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Even with the return of L.J. Phillips Jr., who hasn’t played since week one due to injury, not only were the Hawks neutralized to a season-worst 39 rushing yards, but it was clear that Tim Lester was noticeably unconfident in establishing the run in the first place. While the passing game has undoubtedly been better than previous years with Brown under center, the run game needs to be figured out going forward.
Ohio State began a new drive from their own 16, holding a 10-6 lead with 1:41 left before halftime. They proceeded to march downfield with ease while controlling the clock, getting down to the red zone. On a third-and-4 from the 12-yard line, Sayin hit Jeremiah Smith on the outside, who extended across for the score, giving the Buckeyes a 17-6 lead heading into the half. The touchdown was Smith’s sixth catch, giving him 111 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Now down two scores and with the Buckeyes starting on offense, the game was teetering on the edge of a rout.
To open up the third, a blitz and sack by Jacob Wallace on first-and-10 led to a three-and-out punt from Ohio State. Disregarding the final scoring drive of the first half, the Hawkeyes defense had looked solid and gave a valiant effort, as they got a great start to the second half. But Iowa responded with a punt off a three-and-out. On the next drive, the Buckeyes crossed midfield before running into a fourth-and-1 from the Iowa 42-yard line. They motioned Sayin out to try an outside wildcat run to Bo Jackson. Not only did OSU commit two penalties, but the Hawkeyes still stood them up for an electric turnover on downs. Despite this, Hank Brown threw three straight incompletions, leading to another three-and-out. Are you catching a theme here?
With the offense a no-show, it was only a matter of time before the defense cracked. And it came in a way nobody wanted. During the third quarter, starting defensive backs Deshaun Lee and Zach Lutmer suffered injuries and did not return for the remainder of the game. Kirk Ferentz labeled the injuries as cramps, and it doesn’t sound too severe looking ahead. The bad news is these injuries happened with time left to be played against the best receiver in the nation. Sayin, on a play fake, effortlessly stepped away from a blitzing Landyn Van Kekerix and bought himself time to launch it deep. He dropped a dime to Jeremiah Smith downfield, who beat Anthony Hawkins in coverage. Smith reeled in the catch and shook off Hawkins’ tackle, strolling in for the 57-yard touchdown, and capping it off by hitting the Heisman pose in the north endzone of Kinnick Stadium. The day wouldn’t end there for Smith, but it was certainly the exclamation point of his historic performance. He finished the game with 11 catches for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and is now Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.
With Ohio State now ahead 24-6, things didn’t get any better. The Hawkeyes tried to piece together a drive and got up to midfield, but Brown, facing pressure, sailed a pass into the arms of Jaylen McClain for the interception. Brown had no turnovers all season entering the game, and had now committed his second of the game. The team and the crowd fizzled out from there, as the Buckeyes put together an easy scoring drive that bled into the fourth quarter, with Ja’Kobi Jackson running through the defense for a 7-yard TD.
Jeremy Hecklinski entered the game in the fourth after Brown took a hit to the shoulder the previous drive. Hecklinski orchestrated the best offensive drive of the game, finishing it by dishing a pass to Braeden Jackson out of the backfield, who took it in for a 2-yard TD. That was followed up by an impressive catch from Reece Vander Zee for Iowa’s first two-point conversion in six years. Garbage time points, sure, but it made the score look a little better.
That score came with 9:30 left to play in the game, and Iowa never got the ball back. While it didn’t matter much, the final drive of the game summed the day up perfectly. The Buckeyes converted three third downs and a fourth down to chew out the rest of the clock and kneel it out. In other words, they controlled the entire drive, just like how they controlled the entire game. It felt like there wasn’t any point Iowa had an advantage on Ohio State the entire game, going all the way back to the Brown fumble. They had just 21 minutes of possession time compared to Ohio State’s 38 minutes. The Buckeyes more than doubled Iowa in total yards, 484 to 238, and had almost four times more rushing yards than Iowa. Simply put, the Hawkeyes were defeated and outschemed in nearly every aspect of the game. With how good they had been playing through the first four games of the season, this outcome wasn’t expected.
The most important thing for Iowa is to make sure this loss doesn’t crush them. There is still a possibility, and not so unrealistic a reality, that they can find themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff. The easiest way to get there would be to win out, obviously, but it is much easier said than done. Now, the Hawkeyes have a shortened week ahead of a trip to the Pacific Northwest and Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies on Friday night. While Washington has had a rather underwhelming season thus far, it won’t be a cakewalk, and Iowa will look to bounce back.
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