IOWA CITY, Iowa - Ohio State didn’t need a clean afternoon to leave Iowa with a win. It just needed Julian Sayin to find Jeremiah Smith.
That became clear early in the second quarter, when Sayin looked like he was about to force a throw he had no business attempting. It was first-and-10 at the 25-yard line, and he tried to thread the ball between three Hawkeyes on a pass that absolutely could have been intercepted. Instead, Smith came down with it and turned the play into a 54-yard gain.
That one snap said plenty about Ohio State’s season. The Buckeyes had their issues against Iowa: penalties, trouble getting off the field on third down, special teams mistakes and missed chances in the red zone. None of it mattered once Sayin started connecting with Smith.
The two finished with 15 targets, 11 completions, 206 yards and two touchdowns. Smith also set new program career records for catches and touchdowns. When that connection is rolling, Ohio State can paper over a lot of flaws in a hurry.
The bigger question is whether that kind of force is enough to carry the Buckeyes all the way.
Sayin to Smith might be the most dangerous single element in college football right now. Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy as a tandem could be the only real rival, though Lacy has not been healthy enough this season for them to make a strong case.
What makes Ohio State so intriguing is how one elite pairing can change the feel of a game. It did it against Iowa.
It did it in a dominant showing against Illinois. It did it for the first three quarters against Texas.
When one combination can flip a game that fast, the ceiling changes immediately, even if the rest of the roster has some rough edges.
Still, Ohio State has lived in this territory before.
Ryan Day has had teams with a similar kind of trump card: Chase Young wrecking games by himself in 2019, C.J. Stroud throwing to Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2021, and Marvin Harrison Jr. nearly dragging the Buckeyes to a national title in 2023.
Go back to the Urban Meyer years and the pattern holds. There was the 2015 team with elite talent all over the roster trying to defend a championship, and the 2016 group with a secondary that included four first-round picks.
Each of those teams had something that looked like a built-in advantage. None of them finished the job.
The 2019 team fell to Clemson. The 2021 team’s problems elsewhere showed up in losses to Oregon and Michigan.
Harrison’s run ended with an 11-win season and a loss to Michigan. Meyer’s 2015 team ran into a coaching staff that wasn’t sharp enough, and the 2016 secondary eventually met its match against Deshaun Watson and Clemson.
So what makes this version different?
The sport itself has shifted, with talent more spread out than before and the gap between the top teams and everyone else not quite as wide.
And from Ohio State’s point of view, this team has fewer holes than some of those other groups, even if it’s still not finished. The defense remains a work in progress.
Special teams still have too many hiccups. The run game has had good stretches but hasn’t found consistent rhythm.
Even the Buckeyes’ second-best receiver is still something of a mystery.
There’s time to sort out the rest. But there’s also a very real chance that one thing ends up mattering most.
Ohio State may get to the end of this season and reach the top of the sport again because it has something no one else can match:
“We have Julian Sayin throwing the ball to Jeremiah Smith and you don’t.”
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 🡒]