Ohio State 34, Iowa 24
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Carlos Hyde scored on a highlight touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and No. 4 Ohio State survived a scare and the ejection of senior cornerback Bradley Roby to beat Iowa 34-24 on Saturday.
Roby's replacement, Armani Reeves, was twice beaten on TD passes, including an 85-yarder from Jake Rudock to tight end Jake Duzey down the right sideline with 2:30 left in the third to tie score at 24.
OSU (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) went ahead 31-24 with 13:24 to play on a staggering 19-yard touchdown run by Hyde. He broke through the line, was hit at the 8 by Tanner Miller, stumbled back to the 11 then regained his balance before diving over the goal line at the right pylon from the 3.
Ohio State scored twice in the third quarter to turn a 17-10 deficit into a 24-17 lead.
The Buckeyes got the kickoff and drove 75 yards, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run by Hyde to make it 17-17. Iowa had been the only FBS team not to have allowed a running TD, and it came on the 205th carry of the season by the opposition.
Braxton Miller followed with a 14-yard pass-and-run to Devin Smith to put OSU ahead.
Iowa (4-3, 1-2), whose previous three scoring drives all reached double figures in plays, needed only one play -- to Duzey -- to set up a tense final quarter.
Ohio State lost its first player to the new "targeting" rule when Roby, a preseason All-American, was ejected with 1:15 left in the first quarter.
Roby launched himself at C.J. Fiedorowicz after an 11-yard gain across the middle. Roby, a 2012 All-Big Ten selection, led with his shoulder but his helmet caught Fiedorowicz in the neck area. The call on the field was reviewed and upheld.
With Roby gone, the Buckeyes were without their usual starting cornerbacks; Christian Bryant suffered a fractured ankle Sept. 28 against Wisconsin.
The 15-yard penalty on Roby gave the Hawkeyes a first down at Ohio State's 13-yard line, but Iowa had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Mike Meyer and a 10-3 lead after the first quarter.
Miller hit Philly Brown on a 58-yard TD pass early in the second quarter to tie it at 10-10.
Rudock's 6-yard scoring throw to Kevonte Martin-Manley put Iowa up 17-10 at halftime.
NOTES: OSU has won 19 straight, all under coach Urban Meyer, to tie the second-longest winning streak in program history, trailing only the 22 wins from 1967 to 1969. ... The Hawkeyes played in Columbus for the first time since losing 27-24 in overtime on Nov. 14, 2009, in a game that decided the Big Ten championship. ... The Hawkeyes have lost five straight in the series since a 33-7 home win on Oct. 16, 2004, and trail 47-14-3 all-time.
