31-14 > 42-19. The math might not seem right, but a 31-14 road win over an undefeated ranked team with a top-10 defense certainly looked and felt better than a 42-19 home win over a team that just got their asses kicked by lowly Purdue. A deeper dive into the numbers bears this out:
The Buckeye offense was slightly worse against Iowa (31 points, 484 yards, 6.6 average) than Illinois (42 points, 518 yards, 7.6 average), but that was to be expected when playing a team with a strong defense. And the Buckeyes' numbers could have been even better but for a missed field goal, some short-yardage buffoonery, and a 16-play, 55-yard drive to grind out the final 9:30 of clock to end the game.
It was on defense where the Buckeyes clearly improved:
| Statistic |
Illinois |
Iowa |
| Total Yards |
462 |
238 |
| Yards per Play |
6.5 |
4.5 |
| Rush Yards |
199 |
39 |
| Average per Rush |
6.0 |
1.9 |
| First Downs |
25 |
15 |
| Total Plays |
71 |
53 |
| Turnovers |
0 |
2 |
| Punts Forced |
2 |
4 |
| Time of Possession |
30:38 to 29:22 |
38:02 to 21:58 |
Outside of Iowa's final garbage time drive – 8 plays for 75 yards and a touchdown – the Buckeyes held the Hawkeyes to 163 yards on 45 plays (3.6 average), 12 for 27 (.444) passing, a pair of field goals of 40+ yards, and no trips to the red zone.
It was a case of total domination that didn't quite show on the scoreboard.
In 4+ games this season, Jeremiah Smith now has 44 receptions for 823 yards and 9 touchdowns. During the 2011 season, the Buckeyes' top three receivers COMBINED had 42 receptions for 692 yards and 11 touchdowns in 13 games.
