The Ohio State offense, after scoring on their first drive
of the game, found the going a bit tough against Iowa’s highly rated defense,
but came on strong in the second half to put away the Hawkeyes 35-7. Emeka Egbuka had a career day, scoring the
lone touchdown in the first half with a 14-yard catch, then scored back-to-back
touchdowns in the second half. This was
part of a haul of nine catches for 71 yards, giving Egbuka 30 receptions for
433 yards and five touchdowns in the five games this season. Jeremiah Smith made another one-handed
touchdown catch for a 4-yard score on the Buckeyes’ opening drive of the second
half. Smith is the first freshman in
Ohio State history with touchdown receptions in each of his first five
games. His six touchdown receptions puts
him just two shy of Cris Carter’s freshman touchdown catch record of eight in
1984. Brandon Innis filled in nicely for
the injured Carnell Tate, with three catches 29 yards. For the second straight week, quarterback
Will Howard scored a rushing touchdown from in close. Recovering from a badly thrown ball for a
pick in the first half, Howard ended up completing 21 out of his 25 throws for
over 200 yards and four touchdowns. The
running game got on track in the second half, eventually churning out 203 yards
and averaging over five yards per carry, led by 78 yards by Quinshon Judkins,
while TreVeyon Henderson contributed 61.
The defense played an outstanding game, holding Iowa
scoreless until late in the game. Sonny
Styles led the way with seven stops and two TFLs, while Cody Simon had six and
recovered a “strip-sack” fumble by Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara that set up a
touchdown. They held the nation’s
second-leading rusher, Kaleb Johnson in check and had three takeaways. The Ohio State defense has now forced nine
turnovers (five fumbles/four interceptions).
Next week, however, could be the toughest test of the season
as the Buckeyes travel to Eugene for a top five showdown with the Oregon Ducks.
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