Iowa’s defense can only put out so many fires in 54-10 blowout loss to No. 2 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fire blasted from two machines as Ohio State players marched onto the field pregame from the southeast tunnel at Ohio Stadium.

It was the only literal fire coming from No. 2 Ohio State in Saturday’s game against the Hawkeyes.

But there were plenty of metaphorical fires at the Horseshoe, too, whether that be because of Ohio State’s playmakers or Iowa’s offensive ineptitude.

Iowa’s defense could only put out those fires for so long, as No. 2 Ohio State rolled past Iowa in a 54-10 win.

The performance Saturday from Phil Parker’s Iowa defense may have been good enough for other teams to at least stay competitive with the second-ranked Buckeyes for a while.

Iowa’s defense allowed only one touchdown in the first half to an offense that entered play averaging 543.7 yards and 48.8 points per game.

Ohio State started four first-half drives in Iowa territory, yet came away with only field goals each time.

Defensive lineman Joe Evans had a strip-sack and recovered the fumble for a touchdown to give Iowa a brief lead in the first quarter. Jack Campbell had an interception in the second half.

Ohio State scored 54 points — the most Iowa has allowed in the Kirk Ferentz era — on only 360 total yards.

When fellow defensive lineman Noah Shannon looked at the video board and saw how Ohio State had so many points for relatively not-so-many yards, it “didn’t align in my head.”

Much of the reason was Iowa’s virtually nonexistent offense.

Quarterback Spencer Petras went 6-for-14 passing with two interceptions and one fumble lost before being benched at halftime. He threw both interceptions directly to Ohio State defenders.

Life wasn’t much better for the offense with backup Alex Padilla in the game. Padilla went 5-for-10 with one interception.

Two of the first three plays with Padilla were turnovers. Padilla and center Logan Jones botched the exchange on the snap on the first play of Padilla’s first drive for a fumble.

Then after a 1-yard Kaleb Johnson run, Padilla’s first throw went off the hands of tight end Sam LaPorta and into the arms of Ohio State’s Tanner McCalister for an interception.

Iowa’s running backs rarely had much room to run, leading to another anemic performance. The Hawkeyes averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Punter Tory Taylor’s 4-yard run as he tried to eke out a first down was Iowa’s third-longest rushing play of the first half.

The Hawkeyes finished the game with six turnovers — three interceptions and three fumbles.

"Turnovers are tough to overcome, again, no matter who you’re playing,” Ferentz said.

Ohio State (7-0, 4-0) then ran up the score in the second half, scoring 28 points after intermission. No other 2022 opponent has put up that many points in an entire game, let alone in one half.

Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud was 20-for-30 for 286 yards. He threw four touchdowns and an interception.

The Hawkeyes’ rush defense was a bright spot, holding Ohio State to 2.2 yards per carry. The Buckeyes entered play averaging six yards per carry. Campbell attributed the success to the defensive line.

“Those are the guys who do all the dirty work,” Campbell said. “They did an incredible job today. I’m proud of them.”

What turned into an ugly overall result for the Hawkeyes included a cool moment for Evans. As he scored his touchdown and “felt on top of the world,” he celebrated it from a distance with his father, who was in the nearby section of Iowa football parents.

“Me and my dad, before every game, we kind of give each other little chest bumps,” Evans said. “I looked at him and do that.”

Iowa (3-4, 1-3) will go from playing one of the best teams in the Big Ten, if not the best, to playing one of the worst. Northwestern (1-6, 1-3) is on a six-game losing streak, rarely forcing opponents to put out fires.

“Needless to say, we're not where we want to be right now,” Ferentz said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com