Trending
COLUMBUS -- A grade card on Ohio State's 31-14 win over previously undefeated Iowa:
OFFENSE: A-
OSU scored 31 points against a defense which came into Saturday's game leading the nation by giving up only 8.0 points a game.
While there could be legitimate questions asked about how good a schedule the Hawkeyes built that No. 1 ranking against, they held Ohio State to one touchdown in the game's first 29 minutes.
Jeremiah Smith was the big story on offense for the second game in a row. He had 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns and broke Ohio State records for most touchdown catches and most catches in a career. It was similar to his 12 catches, 217 yards, 4 touchdowns game against Illinois a week earlier.
While Ohio State enjoyed the sequel, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz doesn't need to see one. "With a little bit of luck we won't see him again during my career. That would be OK," he said.
Julian Sayin completed 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. OSU had a decent amount of balance, with 160 yards rushing. Ja'Kobi Jackson, who got the start over Bo Jackson, had 72 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. Bo Jackson ran for 70 yards on 16 carries.
Devin McCuin caught a touchdown pass for the first time since the season opener against Ball State and had four catches overall. Ohio State scored a touchdown in the final 15 seconds of the first half for the fifth straight game.
The offensive line was flagged for three false start penalties and allowed four sacks but was dominant when OSU ran the last 9 1/2 minutes off the clock without giving the ball back to Iowa.
DEFENSE: A
Ohio State's defense set up the Buckeyes' first touchdown in the first minute of the game when defensive end Kenyatta Jackson strip sacked Iowa quarterback Hank Brown and Christian Alliegro recovered the fumble at the Hawkeyes' 14-yard line. Two plays and one false start penalty later Sayin threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to McCuin and OSU led the rest of the way.
That wasn't the only time the defense made game-changing plays. With OSU holding on to a 17-6 lead early in the third quarter, Iowa had back-to-back three-and-outs, which eventually led to a 57-yard touchdown pass from Sayin to Smith to make it 24-6. Iowa's next possession ended quickly on an interception by Jaylen McClain.
Iowa had only 39 yards rushing in the game and Brown was 12 of 27 passing for 132 yards. With Ohio State leading 31-6, back-up quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski led a scoring drive for Iowa's final score.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C+
Kicker Connor Hawkins was 1 for 2 on field goals. He hit from 28 yards but missed from 40 yards. He is 5 for 7 on field goals for the season. Joe McGuire had a 31-yard punt.
OVERALL: A-
OSU made noticeable improvement on defense from the Illinois game. Now the key will be to see if it can continue to improve week by week the rest of the season.