COLUMBUS — Ohio State is now into its Big Ten slate, starting league play with a road win over Michigan State on Saturday night. The Buckeyes dominated the game throughout — but still have a lot to fix if they’re going to reach their championship season.

Next on the calendar: the Iowa Hawkeyes. Yes, Ohio State will welcome Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) to the Horseshoe for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff with improvement on its mind.

The Buckeyes opened Sunday morning as a 21.5-point favorite over Iowa, according to the folks at Fanduel Sportsbook. The total for the matchup is the lowest total for Ohio State so far this season: 42.5 points.

Even in a 31-point road win on Saturday night over Michigan State, the Buckeyes are finding plenty they need to correct and build on — especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Spartans had success on offense early in the game.

“I thought we did a really good job of shutting them down, especially in the second half, but there’s some things we have to look at in the film and figure out,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Early on, some explosive plays in there that we have to clean up. I think that we were watching the film at halftime, we were close to getting to the quarterback with a couple things. We just needed to hang on coverages to tick longer. But, you know, listen, they’re a good team, and they’re well-coached, and they have good players too. But I thought we responded and made the changes appropriate, and game adjustments were solid.”

Now finally with a Big Ten game on film to break down, critique and improve on, the Buckeyes can see where they stack up compared to where they want to be. Iowa will present another good test for this defense — and this program.

Iowa at Ohio State betting notes, trends

+ Ohio State is 2-2 against the spread this season
+ Iowa is also 2-2 against the number
+ The Buckeyes have won 16 of their last 19 games against Iowa
+ The total has gone OVER in three of the four Ohio State games so far
+ All of Iowa’s four games have went OVER
+ The last two meetings between these teams have been blowouts, one each way. Ohio State beat Iowa 54-10 in 2022, while Iowa beat Ohio State 55-24 in Iowa City back in 2017.
+ Five of the last six meetings between these two teams have gone over the total
+ The Buckeyes haven’t lost at home to an unranked team since Virginia Tech beat them in 2014
+ Iowa’s last win over a ranked team came in 2021 against Penn State
+ Iowa’s last road win over a ranked team came in 2021 over Iowa State

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