Charles Davis had a front-row seat for one of the wildest finishes of the weekend, and now he’s back on the mic for another heavyweight Big Ten showdown.
The CBS college football analyst was in Ann Arbor last Saturday when Iowa stunned Michigan with a touchdown on the final play to escape with a 20-19 win. Davis, along with play-by-play voice Brad Nessler and sideline reporter Jenny Dell, will call No.
5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Eastern/2:30 p.m. Central in Iowa City.
Looking back on the Iowa-Michigan finish, Davis said the game delivered exactly the kind of rugged, low-scoring battle many expected - until it suddenly flipped late.
“Yeah, everything you said is true. I'm sure those were the thoughts, not just by the people there, but anyone watching.
But it also just struck me that, we went into that game, Iowa-Michigan, believing defense rules and it would be a low scoring affair, and all those things fit, right? That's what we got.
And Iowa getting off the deck late and scoring and winning the way they did almost felt fitting, felt in a lot of ways, like not quite an old-school Big Ten game, because they would have run the ball a bunch more.
"But it was still a close, hard-hitting game. A game can swing on one or two plays, all those things that go into it.
And then for Iowa to ring the bell and win it the way they did, with Michigan's help with the bad (personal foul) penalty, the injury that stops the clock, things of that nature, among other things. It was just a great atmosphere.
"And what a big time game for a Big Ten opener, with stakes really jumping up higher than maybe we expected because of how both teams started the season, especially Michigan with their high wire act. It was fun. It was a fun atmosphere.”
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Iowa Has A Real Shot To Shake Up The Big Ten Again
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Now comes a different kind of test, with Ohio States offense leaning on its running backs and quarterback Julian Sayin against Iowas top-ranked scoring defense. The Buckeyes have had some recent issues on that side of the ball, which only adds to the intrigue for a Hawkeyes team that has already shown it can make the Big Tens title picture a little messier. [Read more 🡒]
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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 🡒]