by Image via Cody Blissett
In their second Big Ten matchup of the 2024 campaign, the Ohio State football team defeated Iowa, 35-7, to remain unbeaten at 6-0. While the Buckeyes once again did not start the way that Head Coach Ryan Day and his staff would’ve hoped for, a strong response in the second half put the Hawkeyes away for good.
The first half likely didn’t go the way that Ohio State drew it up, but the opening couple of drives were as good as could’ve been asked for. First, the Buckeye defense forced a punt and then, led by running back TreVeyon Henderson, the Ohio State offense pounded down the field and scored a touchdown on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Will Howard to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. After the long drive that took up the majority of the first quarter, the Iowa offense woke up a bit and got into Buckeye territory but missed a field goal to keep the score at 7-0.
Things looked primed for Ohio State to repeat their success of the previous drive, but their offense stalled around midfield and Howard was stuffed on a designed run on fourth down that turned the ball over. Iowa, with their subpar offense, punted the ball back to Ohio State again and running back Quinshon Judkins began the drive with a bursty 21-yard run. One play later, Howard found star freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on a 23-yard pass, but after securing the catch, Smith inexplicably and uncharacteristically lost control of the ball and was recovered by the Hawkeyes.
Both team’s offenses remained stalled, with a combined three straight punts. Then, on the edge of Iowa territory, Howard made his most horrendous mistake of the season, trying to find Egbuka over the top, but badly underthrowing the ball for an interception to Iowa safety Sebastian Castro.
Day, Howard and Co. could not have been thrilled with the team’s first half performance and the Buckeyes came out with renewed energy in the third quarter. Getting the ball to open the half, Howard consistently fed Judkins to force the Iowa defense to crowd the line. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly then decided to let Howard air it out and he did just that, finding Smith on a huge 53-yard catch that got them all the way down to Iowa’s four-yard line. On the next play, Smith added to his highlight reel and Howard threw a jump ball to the back left corner of the end zone where Smith, with his left arm being held by an Iowa defender, pulled the ball in with just his right to extend the Buckeye lead to 14-0.
To start the Hawkeyes’ next drive, edge rusher Jack Sawyer continued his stellar season by sacking Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara and forcing a fumble at the same time that was recovered by Buckeye linebacker Cody Simon. Henderson and Howard capitalized on the short field, with Henderson taking the first two carries before Howard punched it in with his legs to add another seven.
Iowa’s best player, running back Kaleb Johnson, finally broke loose on the next drive to get into Ohio State territory but another poor mistake by McNamara resulted in an interception by cornerback Davison Igbinosun. The Buckeyes took advantage of the Hawkeyes’ mistakes once again by scoring their third straight touchdown on a gorgeous over-the-shoulder pass from Howard to Egbuka. To close out the dreadful third quarter for Iowa, McNamara lost the ball as he received pressure from defensive tackle Ty Hamilton and it was pounced on by Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles.
In the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes, with a short field, scored their final touchdown of the day on a three-yard catch from Egbuka, his third score of the day. With the game out of hand, Johnson shook free for a 28-yard touchdown scamper, but that was all the Hawkeyes could muster.
Despite the pretty final score, questions continued to arise about Howard’s ability to lead the Buckeyes to a championship. He threw for four touchdowns and ran for another, sure, but he really did not look good in the first half. He missed multiple open receivers in his reads and his interception was unacceptable. After a strong start to the season, the criticism has ramped in recent weeks and rightfully so.
Egbuka, however, has had a much more positive trajectory on the year. His semi-quiet state to the season has been long forgotten and he now has five touchdowns in his last three games. If he continues to play like this, his name will certainly continue to rise earlier and earlier in first round projections for the 2025 NFL Draft. Speaking of future professional receivers, Smith, in spite of only having four catches, continued to take the nation by storm with his one-handed catch. We can’t help but ask, what on Earth could he do next?
Defensively, the Buckeyes silenced the critics after an interesting game last week against Michigan State. The defensive line especially was incredibly disruptive throughout the duration of the game. Sawyer wreaked havoc, recording 1.5 sacks and Hamilton’s consistent pressure gave him a sack on the day as well. Additionally, edge rusher J.T. Tuimoloau had a half of a sack and Tyleik Williams returned from injury to add to the Buckeyes defensive front. Cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. also had a sack. Elsewhere, the linebacker corps was strong after looking shaky a week ago and the secondary did a nice job of cleaning up the holes down the field.
It was thought before the game that the Buckeyes would be fully healthy, but wide receiver Carnell Tate was unavailable with an injury. In his place, Bryson Rodgers and Brandon Inniss saw increased reps. Additionally, tight ends Will Kacmarek and Gee Scott Jr. played more snaps than they likely would have if Tate was available.
Coming up next, Ohio State will have its biggest test of the season next week at Oregon. To escape unscathed, they’ll have to build on their second half success and stay away from the stagnation that plagued them early on.
