Ohio State’s normally potent red zone attack was held in check, but the No. 2 Buckeyes’ defense came to the rescue long enough for the offense to get untracked in a 54-10 win over visiting Iowa in Columbus on Saturday.
C.J. Stroud, held to 105 passing yards and no touchdowns in the first half, threw four TDs in the second as the Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) pulled away. He was 20 for 30 for 286 yards with one interception.
Ohio State held a deceptive 26-10 halftime lead on the nation’s third-best scoring defense (9.8 points per game), but the Hawkeyes’ offense gifted the Buckeyes points.
Thanks to two turnovers by Iowa (3-4, 1-3) quarterback Spencer Petras, a botched fake punt and an Ohio State punt return, the Buckeyes had four drives start inside the Iowa 35 that netted only four field goals for the No. 1 scoring offense nationally (48.8).
Ohio State entered the game with 27 touchdowns and two field goals in 29 trips to the red zone.
The only touchdown for Iowa was a strip sack of Stroud and a fumble recovery return of 11 yards by Joe Evans to put the Hawkeyes ahead 7-3 within the first two minutes of the game.
Iowa trailed 19-10 when Tommy Eichenberg had a pick-six of Petras for 15 yards with 3:25 left before halftime.
The Ohio State defense had five sacks, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions.
The first two plays of the second half resulted in a Stroud interception followed by Iowa botching the snap and Ohio State recovering at its 45.
Alex Padilla replaced Petras (6 for 14, 49 yards and two interceptions) for the next series and Tanner McAlister got his second interception of the game at the Iowa 15. Four plays later, Marvin Harrison made a 6-yard TD catch for a 33-10 lead and Emeka Egbuka later had a 13-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 40-10 in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Stroud connected with Julian Fleming for a 79-yard score to make it 47-10.
–Field Level Media