Gene Ross
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Ohio State opens as 20.5-point favorites over Iowa
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes return home to take on the Hawkeyes on Saturday.
Ohio State moves to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play after a 38-7 win over Michigan State in East Lansing. The Buckeyes will now return home to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes, whom they have played some close games against in recent memory — and also took a big road loss we won’t talk about. That being said, Ohio State won the last meeting in Columbus, 54-10, in 2022.
Ohio State’s offense has shown very little to be concerned about through its first four games, averaging 48.8 points per contest — good for fourth in the nation. The Buckeyes have been great through both the air and on the ground, averaging just under 308 yards per game passing and almost 230 yards per game rushing. The balanced attack, mixed with all of the skill talent at Chip Kelly’s disposal, has led to a unit that is hard to slow down.
Will Howard has been a steady leader of that offense, throwing for over 1,000 yards with eight touchdowns and two picks with three scores on the ground as well. His two favorite targets have been Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, who have nearly identical receiving stats. Smith has 19 catches for 364 yards, while Egbuka has 21 grabs for 362 yards, although Smith leads Egbuka in TDs five to two, with an additional rushing score for Smith. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have been a tremendous duo out of the backfield, combining for 666 yards and nine TDs on 8.5 yards per carry.
Despite a pair of disjointed first halves in each of the last two games, Ohio State’s defense ranks No. 1 in the country allowing only 6.8 points per game. The Buckeyes have been a bit susceptible against the run and mobile quarterbacks, especially without starting defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, who has missed the last two contests. That said, they have been able to make the necessary adjustments in the second half to keep games out of reach when paired with how well the offense has played.
Iowa has gotten off to a 3-1 start to the season, with the Hawkeyes’ one loss coming in a close 20-19 contest against rival Iowa State. Kirk Ferentz’s group led 19-7 in the third quarter against the Cyclones, but would be held scoreless the rest of the way and ultimately lost on a 54-yard field goal as time expired. As is usually the case for Ferentz’s teams, they have been average to below-average offensively (53rd nationally with 32 points per game) but very good defensively (15th nationally allowing 13.8 points per game).
The Iowa offense is led by quarterback Cade McNamara, who is now in his second year with the program after spending his first three years at Michigan. McNamara has been fine for the Hawkeyes, throwing for 588 yards with three touchdowns and two picks, but the real start of the show has been Kaleb Johnson. The junior running back has rushed for 685 yards and nine touchdowns on an impressive 8.9 yards per carry. Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill is the only Hawkeyes receiver to eclipse 100 yards thus far, hauling in 13 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Many of the stalwarts from last year’s Iowa defense are now gone, but that doesn’t include senior linebacker Jay Higgins, who leads the team with 34 tackles to go along with a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble. The Hawkeyes have four different players with at least two sacks, led by defensive lineman Aaron Graves with three. Defensive back Jermari Harris has been the leader on the back end, picking off two passes — including one returned for a touchdown — and recording a team-high five pass breakups. As a group, Iowa has not allowed more than 21 points in a game so far this year.
Ohio State has had its first half struggles against the run, and Johnson will be by far the best running back the Buckeyes have seen to this point. Jim Knowles also hasn’t been very willing to load the box against run-heavy attacks, but will likely have to change things up this week as Iowa is unlikely to feature a downfield passing game. Ohio State will have the benefit of Williams returning up the middle, which should help its run defense, and it will be interesting to see how the high-powered Buckeye offense fairs against a tough Hawkeye defense.
Ohio State has won six of the last seven meetings with Iowa, with the lone loss being the infamous 55-24 beatdown by the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. The Buckeyes have not lost to Iowa in Columbus since 1991.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
The Buckeyes return home to take on the Hawkeyes on Saturday.
Ohio State moves to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play after a 38-7 win over Michigan State in East Lansing. The Buckeyes will now return home to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes, whom they have played some close games against in recent memory — and also took a big road loss we won’t talk about. That being said, Ohio State won the last meeting in Columbus, 54-10, in 2022.
Betting Odds: Ohio State -20.5 | O/U 44.5 (per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Ohio State’s offense has shown very little to be concerned about through its first four games, averaging 48.8 points per contest — good for fourth in the nation. The Buckeyes have been great through both the air and on the ground, averaging just under 308 yards per game passing and almost 230 yards per game rushing. The balanced attack, mixed with all of the skill talent at Chip Kelly’s disposal, has led to a unit that is hard to slow down.
Will Howard has been a steady leader of that offense, throwing for over 1,000 yards with eight touchdowns and two picks with three scores on the ground as well. His two favorite targets have been Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, who have nearly identical receiving stats. Smith has 19 catches for 364 yards, while Egbuka has 21 grabs for 362 yards, although Smith leads Egbuka in TDs five to two, with an additional rushing score for Smith. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have been a tremendous duo out of the backfield, combining for 666 yards and nine TDs on 8.5 yards per carry.
Despite a pair of disjointed first halves in each of the last two games, Ohio State’s defense ranks No. 1 in the country allowing only 6.8 points per game. The Buckeyes have been a bit susceptible against the run and mobile quarterbacks, especially without starting defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, who has missed the last two contests. That said, they have been able to make the necessary adjustments in the second half to keep games out of reach when paired with how well the offense has played.
Iowa has gotten off to a 3-1 start to the season, with the Hawkeyes’ one loss coming in a close 20-19 contest against rival Iowa State. Kirk Ferentz’s group led 19-7 in the third quarter against the Cyclones, but would be held scoreless the rest of the way and ultimately lost on a 54-yard field goal as time expired. As is usually the case for Ferentz’s teams, they have been average to below-average offensively (53rd nationally with 32 points per game) but very good defensively (15th nationally allowing 13.8 points per game).
The Iowa offense is led by quarterback Cade McNamara, who is now in his second year with the program after spending his first three years at Michigan. McNamara has been fine for the Hawkeyes, throwing for 588 yards with three touchdowns and two picks, but the real start of the show has been Kaleb Johnson. The junior running back has rushed for 685 yards and nine touchdowns on an impressive 8.9 yards per carry. Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill is the only Hawkeyes receiver to eclipse 100 yards thus far, hauling in 13 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Many of the stalwarts from last year’s Iowa defense are now gone, but that doesn’t include senior linebacker Jay Higgins, who leads the team with 34 tackles to go along with a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble. The Hawkeyes have four different players with at least two sacks, led by defensive lineman Aaron Graves with three. Defensive back Jermari Harris has been the leader on the back end, picking off two passes — including one returned for a touchdown — and recording a team-high five pass breakups. As a group, Iowa has not allowed more than 21 points in a game so far this year.
Ohio State has had its first half struggles against the run, and Johnson will be by far the best running back the Buckeyes have seen to this point. Jim Knowles also hasn’t been very willing to load the box against run-heavy attacks, but will likely have to change things up this week as Iowa is unlikely to feature a downfield passing game. Ohio State will have the benefit of Williams returning up the middle, which should help its run defense, and it will be interesting to see how the high-powered Buckeye offense fairs against a tough Hawkeye defense.
Ohio State has won six of the last seven meetings with Iowa, with the lone loss being the infamous 55-24 beatdown by the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. The Buckeyes have not lost to Iowa in Columbus since 1991.
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