MY THOUGHTS.....Iowa

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes went on the road and dominated a ranked Iowa team in coming away with a 31-14 victory.

                After giving up the edge, at times, against Illinois and giving up nearly 200 yards on the ground, the Ohio State defense stifled the Hawkeyes on the ground to the tune of a mere 39 yards and less than two yards per carry.  The defense came right out of the gate; on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage, as QB Hank Brown rolled to his left, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. punched the ball out and Christian Alliegro recovered at the Iowa 14.  It led to a touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Devin McCuin two plays later and Ohio State was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.  The defense, at times, gave up some third down conversions (Iowa was 5 of 11), but stiffened when Iowa crossed the fifty-yard line, giving up a touchdown late in the game against the reserves when the game was far out of reach.  Payton Pierce led the way with six tackles and Que Russaw had the best game of his young career with five stops, including a sack.  Eddrick Houston and Zion Grady each had four stops and Alliegro turned in a TFL after his fumble recovery. 

                The Jeremiah Smith show continues as the Heisman front-runner and record-setter turned in yet another double-digit day (11 receptions) and 200+ game (206 yards) with two touchdowns.  Devin McCuin scored the first TD of the game, part of his four receptions for 80 yards and Brandon Innis caught two passes for 14 yards.  The running game could still use some improvement, but Ja’Kobi Jackson was running hard inside and several times, carried Iowa defenders with him, to the tune of 72 yards and their lone score on the ground. 

Bo Jackson turned in 70 yards and Julian Sayin made a couple of timely runs to keep drives going while throwing for over 300 yards and three scores.

                Next week, Ohio State returns home to take on Maryland.