Game Preview: Ohio State Faces Stiff Challenge In Iowa Defense

"This team is always difficult to beat, doesn’t matter what year it was or what year it is. That year was no different than it is this year."

An off week in the middle of the season is typically beneficial in that it allows teams to rest up for the stretch run, but Ohio State was also able to sit back and watch as four top-10 teams lost last weekend, serving as a reminder that the Buckeyes can’t overlook any opponents.

“It just gives you some idea of what’s coming ahead,” head coach Ryan Day said this week. “That’s the whole emphasis of ‘competitive stamina.’ You’ve got to bring it every single week, and we know the challenges ahead are bigger.”

That starts on Saturday against Iowa, which took Ohio State by surprise in 2017, when the unranked Hawkeyes routed the sixth-ranked Buckeyes, 55-24. And while there weren’t any current players on the travel roster that afternoon, the loss left Day with a “scar” that hasn’t gone away.

“We’ve talked about it a lot to our staff, we’ve talked a lot about it to our players and we’ll continue to talk about it,” Day said. “This team is always difficult to beat, doesn’t matter what year it was or what year it is. That year was no different than it is this year.”

With that in mind, the coaches used the off week as an opportunity to take a step back and identify where Ohio State needs to get better to avoid a similar fate against the Hawkeyes this weekend, as well as what the Buckeyes need to do to accomplish their goals of winning the Big Ten and returning to the College Football Playoff.

“These next six games during the regular season, some of our goals are going to be on the line,” Day said. “What do we want to sacrifice? What’s going to separate us from every other team in the country? I think the guys embrace that and understand that. Hopefully those are things that pay off for us.”

General Info

Date: Oct. 22, 2022
Where: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Expected Weather: 66 degrees, mostly sunny
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-30)
O/U Total: 49.5
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: FOX
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline)

Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter)

Series History

Ohio State leads Iowa, 46-15-3
* OSU record at home: 30-9-1

LAST TIME THEY MET
2017: Iowa 55, Ohio State 24

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day
* At Ohio State: 4th Season, Record: 40-4
* Overall: Same

* Kirk Ferentz
* At Iowa: 24th Season, Record: 181-113
* Overall: 27th Season, 193-134

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Ohio State Capsule

After playing what feels like each week without at least one key offensive or defensive player, it appears Ohio State will be back at full strength – or pretty close to it – when the second half of the season begins on Saturday.

“We’re going to get some guys back, which is great,” Day said. “There will always be things that come up, and I think that our depth has gotten stronger because of that, but it’s always good to heal up and get everybody back on the field.”

Running backs TreVeyon Henderson (foot) and Miyan Williams (knee) were both banged up heading into the off week, as Henderson left the 49-20 win over Michigan State on the first play of the third quarter while Williams did not travel with the team to East Lansing. However, both will play against Iowa.

“It’s great to have both of those guys back,” Day said. “I think the bye week really helped both of them, and (we’re) looking forward to having a full-strength running back corps.”

The two have effectively split carries through the first six games of the season, as Williams has rushed for a team-high 497 yards and eight touchdowns on 64 carries while Henderson has 69 carries for 436 yards and four touchdowns.

Elsewhere, it’s unclear if junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will play against the Hawkeyes, as Day always defers to the availability report that will come out at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

He practiced with the team this week, though, and was spotted catching passes from a JUGs machine on Wednesday night, a welcome sign after he missed the last three games (and four games total this season) with a lingering hamstring injury.

“I can answer that, and the answer is ‘Yes,’ Day said when asked if he was encouraged by what he’s seen from Smith-Njigba in practice this week compared to how he's looked the past few weeks.

Lastly, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Michael Hall won’t be limited like he was against the Spartans, when he recorded three tackles and 2.5 sacks in just seven snaps while the staff eased him back into the lineup.

“He had a little nagging thing going on, so were were smart about how we did that,” Day said. “The guys one defense really managed that well and he’s back at full strength, so that’s good.”

Iowa Capsule

Iowa’s offense has been non-existent through the first six games of the season, as the Hawkeyes average a nation-worst 238.8 yards per game, while their 14.7 points per game ranks 127th out of 131 teams nationally.

That not to say Iowa doesn’t have weapons, though, as defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is particularly concerned with tight ends Sam LaPorta and Luke Lachey, who is the son of former Ohio State All-American offensive tackle Jim Lachey (1981-84).

“This is the best tight end – even two of them – since Notre Dame,” Knowles said. “You definitely need to be aware of it. You have to contest. If you give those guys too much space, they kind of body you up and make catches, so you’ve got to have tight coverage.”

LaPorta is the go-to target for quarterback Spencer Petras, as he leads the team with 30 catches – more than twice as much anybody else on the roster – for 279 yards, while Lachey has nine receptions for 157 yards and one score on the season.

“It’s clear that their No. 1 goal is to win the game,” Day said. “It’s not about points or yards or anything like that. It’s about winning the game and playing complementary football, and they’ve done that as good as anybody.”

The Hawkeyes’ defense, meanwhile, is among the nation’s best, as they allow just 9.6 points per game, good for third in the country behind only Illinois (8.9) and Georgia (9.1). The only time they’ve allowed more than 10 points was a 27-14 loss to Michigan, which was the fewest points the Wolverines have scored all season.

Equally impressive, the Hawkeyes surrender just 110.6 yards on the ground and 154.0 yards through the air per game and have allowed just five total touchdowns (two rushing, three passing) through six games, easily the stingiest defense Ohio State has faced all season.

“They’re very good in what they do,” Day said. “The minute you think they’re not going to change it up, they do. There’s a reason why they’re ranked so high year in and year out or have one of the better defenses in the country. They do a great job, so this will certainly be a challenge for the offense.”

Major Storylines

• The first meeting between Ohio State and Iowa occurred nearly 100 years ago on Nov. 18, 1922. It was just the fifth game ever played in Ohio Stadium, with the Hawkeyes winning, 12-9.
• The Buckeyes are asking fans to “Scarlet the ‘Shoe” by wearing scarlet to the game. The team will be wearing their standard home uniforms, however, not their all-scarlet “Color Rush” set.
• Ohio State has not played Iowa in Columbus since 2013. The Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes, 34-24, to extend their 18-game winning streak to 19 straight victories under second-year head coach Urban Meyer.
• Iowa’s last win at Ohio Stadium came in 1991, just one day after seven people (including the gunman) were killed in a shooting on the Hawkeyes’ campus. The team notably removed the Tigerhawk logos from their helmets in honor of those who lost their lives.
• Iowa has four Ohioans on its roster, including Lachey (Columbus), quarterback Joe Labas (Brecksville), running back Kaleb Johnson (Hamilton) and linebacker Jestin Jacobs (Englewood). The Buckeyes have never had a player from the Hawkeye State, meanwhile.
• Ohio State hasn’t lost a Big Ten game at Ohio Stadium since a 17-14 loss to Michigan State in 2015. The Buckeyes have won a conference-record 27 straight Big Ten games at home in the six-plus seasons since then.
• The 55 points Ohio State surrendered in the loss to Iowa in 2017 were the fifth-most in school history. It was also the most the Buckeyes had allowed since Penn State scored 63 in 1994.
• Ohio State is the only program in the country to win every game this season by double digits. Oklahoma State previously shared that title, but fell in double overtime at TCU last weekend.
• The Buckeyes’ defense ranks among the top 10 nationally in six categories, including third-down percentage, total defense, first downs allowed, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed and scoring.
• Ohio State and Georgia are the only programs in the country in both total offense and total defense, with the Buckeyes’ offense averaging 543.7 yards per game and the defense allowing just 253.5 yards per game.
• Quarterback C.J. Stroud needs just 145 yards to move into the top five for career passing yards at Ohio State. He’s averaged 342.8 yards per game in 18 career starts.
• Ohio State has now scored 20 or more points in 66 straight games, which is just three games shy of tying the Football Bowl Subdivision record set by Oklahoma from 2016-21. The Buckeyes could tie that mark at Northwestern on Nov. 5 and break it against Indiana on Nov. 12.

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