Ohio State’s next trip to Iowa now has a start time and a TV home.
The No. 7 Buckeyes will take on the No.
17 Hawkeyes on Oct. 3, with the Big Ten announcing Monday that the game will kick at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. Ohio State is set to play Illinois at home this week before opening conference play, then heading to Iowa after that.
The Buckeyes enter the stretch at 2-1 after shaking off the sting of their first loss of the season. Back in Ohio Stadium on Saturday, Ohio State handled Kent State 59-3 and put the rough fourth quarter against Texas behind it.
Ohio State and Iowa have met 66 times, and the Buckeyes own the edge in the series at 48-15-3. Their first matchup came in 1922, when Iowa beat Ohio State 12-9 in Columbus. Iowa won three of the first four meetings, including a scoreless tie, but the Buckeyes built control of the series early.
Ohio State earned its first win in the matchup at home in 1926 and took five of the next six. After Iowa won 14-7 in 1948, the Buckeyes answered with the largest margin in the series two years later, rolling to an 83-21 win in Columbus.
The longest Ohio State run in the rivalry came from 1963 to 1980, when the Buckeyes won 16 straight. They also put together an eight-game streak from 1992 to 2003. Iowa’s best stretch against Ohio State has been two straight wins, which it has done twice, most recently in 1959 and 1960.
One of Iowa’s most memorable wins came in 2017, when Ohio State arrived in Iowa City coming off a home comeback against Penn State. J.T.
Barrett’s early pick-six helped send the Buckeyes off track, and they never recovered in a 55-24 loss, the biggest Iowa victory in the series. Ohio State responded with a 54-10 win in Columbus five years later and followed that with a 35-7 win in 2024.
In Other News...
Ohio State Fans Will Notice A Big Schottenstein Change This Season
Ohio State fans heading back to the Schottenstein Center this season will find a noticeably different building. The university completed a $5.2 million renovation that brought in a new scoreboard, larger ribbon boards and an upgraded audio system, giving one of the Buckeyes busiest venues a cleaner, more modern game-day feel.
Mens hockey will get the first look at the new setup on Oct. 23, with basketball right behind it as the mens and womens teams host games in late October and early November. For a building that already serves as a hub for so much Ohio State action, the changes should be hard to miss once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Is Closing In On A Priority RB Battle
Ohio States win over Kent State pushed the Buckeyes to 2-1, but the weekend also carried added recruiting weight as the program welcomed a wave of official visitors to Columbus. Among the most important names on campus was a 2027 running back who has quickly moved to the top of Ohio States board, giving the staff another chance to make its case in person.
The recruitment remains open-ended, with no commitment date set, but the Buckeyes are clearly in the thick of it and are widely viewed as a leading contender. For Ohio State, landing a back of that caliber would reinforce both the long-term roster plan and the programs ability to keep winning the kind of battles that matter most on the trail. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Faces A Brutal Big Ten Test Right Away
Illinois is walking into conference play with a heavyweight on the other sideline, and Ohio State has already looked the part through three games. The Buckeyes have gotten steady quarterback play from Julian Sayin, a young passer who has settled in quickly, and they have paired that with one of the sports most dangerous targets in Jeremiah Smith, a receiver who keeps stretching what is possible in Columbus.
The challenge is not limited to the offense, either. Matt Patricias defense has been stingy despite replacing eight starters from last season, allowing only 30 points through three games and giving Ohio State the kind of balance that makes an opener feel like a measuring stick. For Illinois, the question is not whether the test is difficult. It is how much of a hit it takes from the start of Big Ten play. [Read more 🡒]