Iowa and Ohio State have been second half teams this season, so something was going to have to give on Saturday. Unfortunately it did for the Hawkeyes as the Buckeyes turned a 7-0 halftime lead into a 21-0 advantage in 2 minutes and 19 seconds in the third quarter and cruised the rest of the way for a 35-7 victory on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

With the loss, Iowa drops to 3-2 on the season. The Hawkeyes will host Washington next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

The Buckeyes opened the scoring in this one on their first drive of the game. It was  good mix of run and pass on a 14 play drive with Emeka Egbuka hauling in a 14 yard touchdown reception from 14 yards out and a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

But, that was all the scoring in the game in the first half. Iowa was able to force a pair of turnovers in the second quarter. The first was on a reception by five star freshman Jeremiah Smith. Jay Higgins knocked the ball loose and also recovered it. Then later in the second quarter, Sebastian Castro was able to haul in an interception.

The game went to halftime at 7-0 in favor of the Buckeyes, but things unraveled quickly for the Hawkeyes in the third quarter. The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff in the third quarter and once again methodically marched down the field with freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith hauling in a one-handed reception in the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

Iowa then committed their first turnover of the game when Cade McNamara fumbled and Ohio State recovered. Two minutes and nineteen seconds later Ohio State scored their third touchdown of the game with a short run by quarterback Will Howard.

The Hawkeyes seemed to be responding on their next drive getting inside Ohio State territory after a 28 yard run by Kaleb Johnson. But, McNamara once again made a costly mistake with an interception. Ohio State cashed in again on a 15 yard touchdown pass and it was 28-0 at the end of the third quarter and the game was essentially over.

Ohio State cashed in once again on a fumble by McNamara to make it 21 points off turnovers on the day when Howard thew another touchdown pass to Egbuka. He had 9 receptions for 71 yards and three scores in the game.

The Hawkeyes did finally get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter with the game decided. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan came in at quarterback and had a 30 yard run on the drive. Three plays later Kaleb Johnson ran 28 yards for the score. It was Iowa’s first points against a ranked opponent since the Ohio State game two years ago and the first points on offense against a ranked opponent since the Michigan game on October 1, 2022.

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