Iowa football look ahead: Hey, Ohio State has problems, too

Ohio State lost two games last year. Burn it down.

Kidding, kidding. The Buckeyes did lose two games and fell with a thud in the College Football Playoff, a 31-0 dismantling at the hands of Clemson. Lots of fingers pointed toward the Buckeyes' passing game, which did average just 213.9 yards a game, ranking 81st in the nation.

The passing game lacked against Clemson, with the Buckeyes completing just 19 of 33 for 127 yards, no TDs and a pair of interceptions.

This is where we should probably mention senior J.T. Barrett returns as the Buckeyes' QB. He's set 23 Ohio State records. As a freshman in 2014, Barrett threw 34 TD passes and just 10 interceptions. He was injured against Michigan, but he absolutely set the table for the 2015 national title.

Ohio State fandom has processed this pretty well. Most everyone agrees, you can't put all of this on Barrett, and hey, Barrett has done things nine out of 10 college QBs can only ever dream of.

Still, there are questions. There aren't questions on who should be the starter, but questions abound on whether or not the passing game will improve. And, sterling resume or not, some of that washes up on Barrett's shore.

Kevin Wilson should help. The former Indiana head coach was hired in Columbus after he was dismissed with player mistreatment allegations swirling. If Wilson has designs on reshaping his image and entering the head coaching realm once again, he'll start stating his case with a historically fantastic Ohio State quarterback at his disposal.

Barrett is just seven touchdowns away from breaking the Big Ten record set by Drew Brees for most touchdowns accounted for in a career (106). Barring any injury scenarios, Barrett will have the Buckeyes hammering away at the end, pointing toward Indianapolis and beyond.

Wilson should be able to match a tempo and scheme to Barrett's talents. Accuracy will be up to Barrett.

Believe it or not, some Ohio State fans are skeptical.

Check this paragraph from the terrific Eleven Warriors, a website dedicated to covering the Buckeyes: 'Barrett is bad, actually' truthers are out there, and they seem to be breeding at record pace. They should be shunned and exiled from all community activities.

I guess the whole point of this is things are tough for everyone, Hawkeye fans. Iowa wrestles with the 7.5 wins a year every year. Some Ohio State fans want to bench the best numbers QB in school history.

Everyone's burden is a little different, of course.

Top D-line in the nation?: Sometimes, the names escape you. But a lot of you have probably heard of Ohio State's defensive ends. You've for sure heard of Tyquan Lewis (8.0 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss). He's joined by three other equally capable ends — Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes and Nick Bosa. You'll probably get to know 5-star recruit Chase Young.

Ohio State lost a ton of talent in the back seven, but the pass rush will have the top five rushers returning.

The Buckeyes' front seven will win games. And the talent runs deep. OSU will be able to sustain hockey-style line changes. This is what makes the Buckeyes a CFP favorite.

Look at the running backs: Mike Weber rushed for 1,096 yards and nine TDs last season. The 5-10, 214-pound sophomore might have to do better to hang on to his carries (Barrett logged 205 carries to Weber's 182).

And he's working on it. You know how Iowa doesn't have players run the 40-yard dash? Ohio State does that and then, somehow, lets the media take pictures of the results that are posted on the walls of the indoor facility.

Eleven Warriors posted this picture and it showed Weber with a 4.39 second 40 and a 1.83 20-yard sprint, fifth and third on the team, respectively.

Again, everyone's burden is a little different in college football.

Hawkeyes Look Ahead

Nov. 4 vs. Ohio State (Kinnick Stadium)

Time and TV: TBA

Week before: vs. Minnesota

Week after: at Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium)

On the horizon: vs. Purdue, Nov. 18

Ohio State Buckeyes

Coach: Urban Meyer (61-6, sixth season at Ohio State)

2016 record: 11-2, 8-1 in the Big Ten East Division (T-1st)

Scoring offense: 39.4 points per game (2nd in B1G, 13th nationally)

Total offense: 459.2 yards per game (1st B1G, 31st nationally)

Scoring defense: 15.5 points allowed per game (2nd B1G, 3rd nationally)

Total defense: 296.1 yards allowed per game (2nd B1G, 6th nationally)

Series: Ohio State leads, 47-14-3

Last meeting: Was too long ago, IMO. Iowa showed a tricked out three-TE offense and it almost worked. QB Jake Rudock hit Jake Duzey for an 85-yard TD pass. The Hawkeyes put a scare into Ohio State, but the Buckeyes just kept pouring talent all over Ohio Stadium in a 34-24 victory in 2013.

The Buckeyes scored TDs on their first three drives of the third quarter, going 15 plays and 75 yards, 11 plays and 84 yards and 10 plays and 75 yards. Iowa ran a grand total of 11 plays in the fourth quarter and had a grand total of 6:55 in time of possession in the second half.

Iowa had a great plan and maybe in the NFL, where talent is more evenly spread, theoretically, it would've worked. In college? The team with the better athletes usually finds a way.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com