Iowa has already shown it can flip the script once on the road, and now the No. 14 Hawkeyes get a crack at doing it again at home against No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday in Iowa City.
The setup feels familiar in all the best ways for Iowa. Last week, the Hawkeyes walked into Michigan and walked out with a 20-19 win on the final play of the game, when Hank Brown hit Reese Vander Zee on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Brown, now in his sixth career start and first on the road, led a 91-yard winning drive and gave Iowa the kind of late-game answer that can change how a team sees itself.
That performance only adds to the buzz around a Hawkeyes team that is 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. It also brings back memories of 2017, when Iowa last hosted Ohio State and buried the then-No.
3 Buckeyes 55-24. That result kept Urban Meyer’s team out of the College Football Playoff, and it remains a talking point in both programs.
Brown’s task gets tougher against an Ohio State defense that has not looked like a finished product. The Buckeyes gave up 199 rushing yards and 6.0 yards per carry to Illinois last week in a 42-19 win, and they also allowed seven runs of at least 10 yards. Through four games, Ohio State is giving up 114 rushing yards per game, which ranks 45th nationally.
That’s a number Iowa will notice. The Hawkeyes are rolling on the ground at 215.5 rushing yards per game, 27th in the country, with Kamari Moulton leading the way. Moulton has 284 rushing yards, a 7.3-yard average, and two touchdowns.
"I think it takes all 11 guys," said Brown, who played sparingly at Auburn (2023-24) and transferred to Iowa before the 2025 season. "I've got to do a good job of getting us in the right play and checking into whatever, based on what they're giving us, how we're going to best attack it and then just executing. It takes 11 guys, receivers, obviously offensive line, and running back, seeing the holes and making the right decision."
On the other side, Ohio State will have its hands full with an Iowa defense that has been stingy from the start. The Hawkeyes lead the nation in scoring defense at 8.0 points per game and rank 10th nationally in total defense at 239.8 yards per game. They’ve given up only three touchdowns.
So this one could be decided up front. Ohio State’s offensive line has to create room for Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson while also giving Julian Sayin enough time to find Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes’ top receiving threat.
"We have a big one coming up. It's going to be big in the trenches," Ohio State left guard Luke Montgomery said.
"I have the utmost respect for Iowa, as well. It's going to be a lot of fun.
I've never played there. I've never been there and I've heard only great things."
Smith may not get the same kind of single coverage Illinois tried to use against him last week. He made the Illini pay anyway, finishing with career highs of 12 catches, 217 yards and four touchdowns.
There is one more piece of history hanging over this matchup: Iowa has beaten both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season only once, back in 1962, when both wins came by 28-14 scores.
"This is a big opportunity for our team to go into a tough road environment against a very good team and go get a win," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "That would certainly build a lot of momentum for our season as we move forward."
In Other News...
Caitlin Clark Got Dragged Into A Viral Hawkeyes Hearing Mix-Up
A strange little Iowa footnote popped up in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing when U.S. senator Eric Schmitt pressed U.S. attorney Jack Smith over texts that referenced a Hawks game. Schmitt took that to mean the Atlanta Hawks, but Smith said he was actually at a womens college basketball game on Feb. 3, 2024, watching the Iowa Hawkeyes face Maryland.
The mix-up was easy enough to see once the shorthand got sorted out, but it still sent Caitlin Clark and Iowa into an unlikely political crosscurrent. For Hawkeyes fans, it was just another reminder of how often the program and its biggest star have become part of a much larger conversation, even when the subject at hand has nothing to do with basketball. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Faces One Kinnick Test That Could Change Everything
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is already circling Iowas Week 5 trip to Ohio State as one of the Big Tens first real measuring sticks, and his breakdown showed why. He pointed to the Buckeyes passing game, led by receiver Jeremiah Smith, while also giving Iowa credit for the kind of defensive structure that usually keeps the Hawkeyes in games well into the fourth quarter. In a matchup like this, the margins tend to be thin, and McElroy made clear that both sides have areas that could swing the night.
For Iowa, the conversation naturally starts with the run game and the red zone defense, two areas that often decide whether the Hawkeyes can turn a close road test into something more. McElroys prediction leans Ohio State, but the bigger question for Iowa is whether those strengths can travel well enough to make the Buckeyes uncomfortable. If they do, this game could look very different from the one many are expecting, and that is exactly what makes it such an intriguing early-season test. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Gets A Warning About What Awaits At Iowa
Iowas late-game win over Michigan was the kind of grinder that reminded everyone why trips to Kinnick can still be such a test. CBS analyst Charles Davis described it as a close, defensive battle decided by a few key plays, the sort of game that fit the Hawkeyes longtime identity and gave their crowd plenty to feed off. It also offered a fresh reminder that Iowa can make even the biggest brands work for every yard.
Now the focus shifts to Ohio States visit for the Big Ten opener, and Davis is already framing it as a high-stakes atmosphere. For the Buckeyes, it is the next checkpoint in conference play, but for Iowa it is another chance to turn a September showcase into something bigger. The setting alone suggests the usual clean script may not survive long once the ball is kicked. [Read more 🡒]