Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) walks back to the line of scrimmage during the first quarter of Ohio State’s contest against Iowa. The Buckeyes would go on to defeat the Hawkeyes 35-7. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
Fans who sat through the first half of Ohio State’s Saturday game against Iowa may have had a lot of questions about the Buckeye offense.
Those who stayed for the second half had those questions answered.
The Buckeyes scored 35 unanswered points in the final 30 minutes to beat the Hawkeyes 35-7 at Ohio Stadium.
“We started getting short fields and the turnovers and the game just flipped there,” head coach Ryan Day said.
Quarterback Will Howard completed 21 of 25 passes for 209 yards, four touchdowns, three of which went to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and an interception. Defensively, linebacker Sonny Styles led the Buckeyes with seven total tackles, including two for a loss.
To open the game, the Buckeyes defense forced a punt on Iowa’s first possession, but Ohio State’s offense didn’t suffer the same fate.
Howard found Egbuka in the near corner of the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes up 7-0, capping a 14-play, 88-yard drive that spanned 11 minutes.
Iowa kicker Drew Stevens looked to get the Hawkeyes on the board with a 51-yard field goal after their offense stalled out at the Ohio State 33-yard line, but his effort went wide left.
The miss seemed a harbinger of things to come, as the second quarter had more mistakes than momentum.
Howard was stuffed on fourth-and-2 on a quarterback power up the middle, and Iowa punted after failing to get a first down on its next possession.
After Ohio State got the ball back, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught a screen pass and looked to be on his way to the red zone, but Jay Higgins, Iowa’s leading tackler, punched the ball free at the 28-yard line for a fumble that gave the ball back to Iowa.
The Hawkeyes once again failed to capitalize and were forced to punt – again.
Ohio State had one last chance to score before halftime, but Howard’s pass, intended for Egbuka, was picked off by Iowa defensive back Sebastian Castro, deadlocking the score at 7-0.
“Going into halftime, I was pissing myself,” Howard said. “I feel like it’s uncharacteristic putting the ball in harm’s way.”
After a disappointing first half, Howard said the first drive in the third quarter was crucial.
“Our emphasis was we have to come out and start fast,” Howard said. “We got to go down and get a score.”
And the Buckeyes did just that.
After a 53-yard catch that got the ball to the Hawkeyes 4-yard line, Smith brought the home crowd to its feet with a one-hand catch that reeled in the pass from Howard.
“It’s stupid,” Howard said when describing Smith’s astounding one-handed snag. “You just let him go make plays and it’s fun to watch. It’s easy and it makes my job pretty nice.”
The next play, defensive end Jack Sawyer stripped the ball from Hawkeye quarterback Cade McNamara, putting the Buckeyes offense right back on the field.
“The quarterback is usually the most vulnerable guy,” Day said. “The strip sacks are huge.”
Ohio State took over at the Iowa 19-yard line, and three plays later, Howard ran the ball into the endzone to give Ohio State a 21-0 lead.
The third quarter ended 28-0 Ohio State after cornerback Davison Igbinosun jumped in front of a Hawkeye receiver for an interception with 3:53 left in the third, and Egbuka capped the drive with a 15-yard score.
The fourth quarter started almost the same, as defensive tackle Ty Hamilton strip-sacked McNamara and defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. recovered. Egbuka then caught a 3-yard lob for the touchdown, extending the Buckeye lead to 35-0.
Ohio State was eight minutes away from a shutout when Hawkeye running back Kaleb Johnson put Iowa on the board with a 28-yard rushing score.
The Buckeyes will head to Eugene, Oregon next weekend for a showdown with the No. 6 Ducks at 7:30 p.m.
“Our focus is, when we leave the locker room today, that we’re starting on Oregon,” Day said.
