Ohio State is heading into Iowa with one message ringing loud from the heart of the defense: enough of the missed fits, enough of the freelancing, and definitely enough of the 200 rushing yards the Buckeyes surrendered to Illinois.
Captain Kenyatta Jackson Jr. didn’t soften the edges when talking about what went wrong. For him, the issue wasn’t mysterious - it was discipline, and Ohio State paid for every lapse.
“It wasn’t acceptable…200 rushing yards...it’s terrible,” Jackson said. “So, you know, with me being the captain, me being the leader, it starts with a D line, and...know that me and my guys will be ready on Saturday with Iowa and run the game.”
Jackson said the breakdowns came when defenders tried to do too much instead of trusting the structure of the defense.
“I think people were just trying to make plays, trying to be, you know, play hero ball instead of doing their job, standing in the gaps, but I mean it’s all fixable,” he said.
He broke down exactly what he meant by “hero ball” - a defender abandoning the assignment in search of a splash play somewhere else.
“So hero ball is basically, you know, just doing your own thing, not, you know, playing within the scheme, not doing your job to the best that you can,” Jackson said. “Just, you know, if I’m a 3 tech and I’m supposed to stay in the big gap and I wanna play hero ball, that’s pretty much just him, you know, trying to.
Do whatever he wants to do. Jumping out of his B gap, going in the A gap, or whatever...we gotta be who we’re supposed to be.
Just do your job. You don’t gotta play hero ball.
Just do your job and you know everything’s gonna take care of itself."
He also pushed back on the idea that Ohio State’s problems up front can be pinned on the departures from last season.
“No, there’s no explanation,” Jackson said. “I mean, yeah, we lost those guys, but you know, the talent that we have in the D-line room or the defense in general, I mean, is there as well.”
Now comes Iowa, and Jackson knows exactly what kind of stress test that means. He pointed to the Hawkeyes’ size up front and their stretch run game as the biggest things Ohio State has to stop.
“They’re real big up front. Their stretch game is, you know, that’s who they are,” he said. “We just have to have a lot of knockback on the line of scrimmage, um, and then get off and blocks.”
The Illinois game, Jackson said, left the defensive line with extra edge.
“I mean, yeah, from the D line, I know we have a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “Iowa is a running team, a heavy running team, and, you know, it’s a challenge for us on Saturday just to stop the run.”
And while Iowa’s comeback win over Michigan was part of the conversation, Jackson said the Buckeyes’ focus has to last from the opening snap to the final whistle.
“With us on Saturday, we just got to play 60 minutes of football...and that’s what we’re gonna do."
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Delivered The Kind Of Road Win Fans Needed
Ohio State went into Kinnick Stadium and delivered the sort of response win its fans had been waiting for, beating Iowa 31-14 and handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season. The Buckeyes controlled the game on both sides of the ball, piling up 484 total yards while keeping Iowa to 238 and a paltry 39 rushing yards, which made this feel less like a tense road test and more like a statement about the gap between the two teams.
Jeremiah Smith was at the center of it, turning the trip into one of those performances that travels well beyond the box score. He finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, giving Ohio State a dynamic edge whenever it needed one and helping offset a couple of turnovers forced by the defense. For a team that needed a clean, convincing road result, this was exactly the kind of night it was looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Just Put Ohio State Fans On Notice Again
Jeremiah Smith kept the Buckeyes moving in Iowa City, turning a road test against the Hawkeyes into another showcase for Ohio States passing game. The freshman wideout tied the Ohio State touchdown record while finishing with 11 catches for 206 yards and two scores, a performance that helped push the Buckeyes to a 4-1 start and add another layer to what has already become a must-watch season in Columbus.
Smiths latest breakout only raises the stakes for what comes next, because Ohio State now heads back home to face Maryland with its young star drawing even more attention. For a team that has spent the early part of the season trying to establish its identity, his ability to create production anywhere on the field has become one of the biggest reasons the Buckeyes keep looking like a contender. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Earned The Big Ten Spot Fans Wanted Most
Week 5 brought a clearer picture of the Big Ten race, and Ohio State came out of it looking like the conference team fans expected to see at the top. The Buckeyes handled Iowa in a game that carried more weight than a typical early-season road test, adding a quality win to a rsum that is starting to separate from the pack as the league standings and the national picture begin to take shape.
The rankings around them still have plenty of movement left, with Indiana continuing to push forward, Oregon and UCLA drawing attention for different reasons, and Michigan still trying to sort out its own path. But Ohio States recent momentum is the kind that can hold up as October approaches, especially if the Buckeyes keep matching style points with results in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]