Ohio State’s trip to Iowa City comes with a familiar warning label: nothing about Kinnick Stadium is supposed to be easy, and Ryan Day knows it.
The Buckeyes head into Saturday’s matchup with the Hawkeyes carrying the kind of challenge that has tested plenty of Ohio State teams since the turn of the millennium in 2000. The last two visits to Iowa have both turned into grind-it-out affairs, with one ending in a comeback and the other in a lopsided loss. Under Day, though, Ohio State has had far more success against Iowa, winning by an average margin of 36 points across their two meetings.
That history hasn’t changed the message from Day this week. On Wednesday, he laid out the formula in blunt, old-school terms: be ready for a four-quarter game, avoid getting fancy in the playbook, run downhill with consistency, win the field position battle, and stay comfortable if things get ugly.
That approach fits the opponent. Iowa has long been one of the better-coached teams in the country, and Day’s comments pointed to exactly what makes the Hawkeyes so stubborn: they do the small things well and make teams earn everything.
For Ohio State, that’s where the concern comes in. The Buckeyes haven’t exactly shown they can live in that kind of game for long stretches yet this season.
Against Texas, they struggled to establish the run in the second half and tightened up once the game got messy. Last week against Illinois, the ground game never really got going, and the defense couldn’t consistently slow the Illinois offense.
Saturday asks for something Ohio State hasn’t had to deliver often: four straight hours of steady, disciplined football.
There is, of course, one obvious advantage in the Buckeyes’ corner. Jeremiah Smith remains the cheat code.
It will be worth watching how Ohio State uses No. 4 in Iowa City and whether the Buckeyes lean on him again the way they did last week. If they need to feed him heavily, there’s no reason to think they won’t.
In Other News...
Ohio State Heads To Iowa With Two Starters Suddenly In Doubt
Ohio State heads to Iowa with a little more uncertainty than it likely wanted this week, as two starters showed up on the availability report as questionable. Jay Timmons is working back from a hamstring injury, while Phillip Daniels remains sidelined after an earlier injury, leaving the Buckeyes with some real late-week questions as they prepare for a tough road test.
There is at least one encouraging note for the defense, though, with defensive end Zion Grady cleared to return after missing two games. Iowa, meanwhile, will be short a starter of its own, with safety Tyler Brown ruled out as he continues to recover, so both teams are heading into the matchup with some moving parts still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Just Forced An Ohio State Greatness Debate
Jeremiah Smiths record-setting afternoon against Illinois gave Ohio State something bigger than a win to talk about. The freshman hauled in 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns, a line that immediately pushed his name into a conversation that Buckeye fans know is never casual: where he already stacks up among the great wideouts to wear the scarlet and gray.
Jeremiah Smiths physical tools and production have drawn praise from analysts and former players alike, and the early rsum is starting to look the part of a legacy candidate. The debate now carries into the next stretch of the schedule, where more big games will help determine whether this was a dazzling milestone or the start of a case for the top spot in Ohio State receiver history. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces One Big Roster Question Entering Dieblers Third Season
Ohio States annual media day offered the first real look at Jake Diebler entering his third season, and the Buckeyes came away sounding encouraged about what this roster can become. With six returning players and nine newcomers, the mix is still coming together, but Diebler pointed to the teams size, depth and a non-conference schedule that should give the group an early measuring stick after a week of practice.
What remains unsettled is how quickly all of those pieces will fit, especially with exhibition games on the horizon and the regular season set to start Nov. 2. The Buckeyes have plenty of new faces to sort through and enough talent to make the early weeks interesting, but the next stretch will reveal whether the rosters promise can translate into something more defined once the games begin to matter. [Read more 🡒]