Easy does it
Buckeyes turn trip to Iowa into another effortless win
Posted: Sunday October 1, 2006 1:57AM; Updated: Sunday October 1, 2006 2:03AM
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- They went all out here Saturday in an effort to help the home team knock off No. 1 Ohio State.
Moments before kickoff, more than 70,000 well-lubricated Iowa faithful -- nearly all of them donning matching gold T-shirts -- waved white towels and screamed their heads off. A team of U.S. Army parachutists swooped down on the field. The people who run the Hawk Vision video board composed a nifty cartoon of an Iowa Hawkeyes truck running over Brutus Buckeye on the highway. Former Iowa star Ronnie Harmon, serving as ceremonial captain, even lent his services for the coin toss.
All the aforementioned parties combined to create a phenomenal atmosphere for Iowa's first night game in 14 years. Too bad they couldn't tackle Buckeyes stars Antonio Pittman and Anthony Gonzalez. Or protect Hawkeyes QB Drew Tate. Or hold on to the football for them.
"All that gold -- it looked really nice," said Gonzalez. "But to be honest, it wasn't as loud as I thought it would be."
The game wasn't as close as most thought it would be, either.
In much the same way they did at Texas three weeks ago, the Buckeyes made their 38-17 victory over No. 13 Iowa look so effortless they might as well have been playing it in a library. Or, more appropriately, a laboratory, seeing as both big road victories could accurately be described as clinical.
In the span of 28 days, OSU has gone from iffy preseason No. 1 to indisputable No. 1, at least based on its five games to date. No other team has gone on the road and knocked off two ranked opponents, nevertheless by a combined score of 62-24. No other team has played four of its five games against legit opponents (Northern Illinois and Penn State being the others) and had nary a scare.
"We talked a lot [going into the season] about how brutal that September schedule was," said head coach Jim Tressel. "We've played some tough teams who brought all they could bring at us, and all that does is make October more important."
Tressel has to say that. Have you seen the Buckeyes' October schedule? Or the rest of their pre-Michigan opposition? Bowling Green, Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern.
Green Day says wake them when September ends? Wake Ohio State when Nov. 18 gets here, because the only way this team will lose between now and then is if its self-destructs. If they play like they did Saturday, no one will even come close. But for a brief moment early in the second quarter when Iowa pulled within 14-10, the Buckeyes looked like house guests who'd been given free reign of the kitchen. If they felt like running the ball, they'd run it. If they felt like passing the ball, they'd pass it. If they'd wanted a second scoop of ice cream, they probably could have gotten that, too.
"This was the best we've played," said OSU tackle Alex Boone. "Normally we take a couple series to start rolling. [Saturday] we were firing right off the bat."
While OSU built its lead against Texas primarily by exploiting the Longhorns through the air, Saturday's performance was the definition of balanced -- 214 yards rushing; 186 passing. Pittman was the star of the first half, rushing for 83 of his 117 yards on 13 carries as OSU built a 21-10 lead. Smith took over in the second, going 5-of-6 for 61 yards on a back-breaking touchdown drive to start the half and finishing with four TDs on the night.
In between, budding cult hero Gonzalez left linebackers flailing on a reverse-field 30-yard touchdown dash, Ted Ginn Jr. quietly contributed seven catches for 69 yards and freshman tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells ground out a season-high 78 yards on 14 carries.
"It's pretty much choose your poison," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of defending the Buckeyes.
Defensively, the Buckeyes certainly weren't perfect (allowing 336 yards), but they achieved their primary goal of rattling the normally unflappable Tate, who completed just 19 of 41 passes and threw three interceptions. They did appear once again to be susceptible to the run (Iowa tailbacks Albert Young and Damian Sims averaged 5.9 yards on 13 carries in the first half), but by building a big lead and forcing four turnovers, they forced the Hawkeyes to be one-dimensional in the second half. Tate produced one nice touchdown drive but otherwise struggled.
"We knew we had to get in his mind," said defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock, who deflected two of Tate's passes. "We were able to get him rattled. He threw into coverage of a lot of times."
It's increasingly hard to believe this is the same defense that lost three NFL first-round picks and nine starters from a year ago. Thanks in large part to big-play defensive backs Antonio Smith, Malcolm Jenkins and Brandon Mitchell (in the one downer of the night, OSU lost safety Anderson Russell to what is believed to be a season-ending injury), the Buckeyes have already forced more turnovers (13) than they did all of last season (12).
"The big question coming into the season was how our defense was going to hold up," said Gonzalez, before making his own straightforward assessment. "Pretty well."
In the postgame press conference, a reporter asked Tressel what questions he had about his team after five games. A perplexed look came over the coach's face. "Questions?"
Following a clarification, Tressel came up with about the only question one could have about the Buckeyes at this point. "Can you handle the success of being 5-0?" he said. "We handled the adversity of a tough environment [Saturday]. I think that's natural. Now, can we handle being successful and will we continue to get better? Because we're capable."
Tressel didn't specify what exactly he considered them capable of, but it's not hard to guess the answer. Four years ago, he led a far more unheralded team to the national title on the strength of an average offense, opportunistic defense and solid special teams. This team still possesses the latter two traits, but it also happens to have one of the nation's most powerful offenses.
The 2002 Buckeyes stunned the nation by winning every game; the only shock with this team will be if it loses before Michigan.
