Here are 5 things we learned from the Ohio State Buckeyes' 54-10 win over Iowa

Ohio State's 54-10 win over Iowa on Saturday went quickly from "What's wrong with the Ohio State offense" to FOX's Joel Klatt telling stories about his youth baseball days to fill time in a one-sided game.

That's what happens when a team gives the Buckeyes' offense enough tries to get on track.

The Buckeyes' defense was great, but it played against an awful offense. The OSU offense struggled against a very good defense. Then quarterback C.J. Stroud figured things out, and the score blew up.

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“Interesting game," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "... Iowa does a really, really good job up front, and you can only take away so many things in the middle and force you to really throw the ball."

Here are five things we learned from Saturday's game:

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Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn't ready

It was surprising when Ohio State let star player Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, return against a team that can't score and pretty much never had a chance to win. But the Buckeyes receiver did, and he caught one pass for 7 yards before apparently pulling up lame again.

Hamstring pulls are unlike many injuries in that they might feel perfectly fine until one twitch brings a setback. Ohio State will never comment on a player's injury unless asked by a national TV network, but all indications are that Smith-Njigba could have used more rest.

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OSU coach Ryan Day downplayed any aggravation of the hamstring, contending Smith-Njigba was on a "pitch count" of about 20 plays and had reached that limit.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba's absence has allowed Marvin Harrison Jr. to become a star

There is an upside to Smith-Njigba's injury. It's that Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming have been given more chances to play and blossom.

They're all good, but Harrison increasingly looks like he's special. He caught seven passes for 62 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. While Egbuka (6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD) and Fleming (2-105-1) had big days, Harrison appears to be the go-to guy in the end zone, with his size (6 feet 4, 205 pounds) and wingspan perfect for tight spaces.

The plan was for Smith-Njigba to draw double coverage everywhere he goes. Now, if Smith-Njigba ever returns, one of those two will draw single coverage and be even more dangerous.

Iowa's defense is legitimate

It would be difficult to find a major-college offense worse than Iowa's. So as the Hawkeyes continue to go three-and-out, they have to send out the heart of their team for extra duty.

The Iowa defense is tough, smart and disciplined. The Hawkeyes stuffed the Ohio State running game, holding the Buckeyes to 2.7 yards per carry, and caused problems for quarterback C.J. Stroud.

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But the Iowa defense can stand tall for only so long, and the Hawkeyes wilted in the second half, as they did in a 27-14 loss to Michigan. While the Wolverines buried Iowa with brute strength, the Buckeyes chose flash and put up a score that was not indicative of the three quarters of struggle.

Is there a battle at backup running back?

With TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams both being considered first-team running backs, Dallan Hayden has been the backup. But on Saturday, Chip Trayanum, who was a running back at Arizona State last year before transferring to play linebacker at Ohio State, was with the second team offense in pregame warmups.

Hayden got two carries on Saturday for 5 yards while Trayanum had one for 9 yards.

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Last season, Trayanum rushed for 402 yards and six touchdowns on 78 carries for a 5.2-yard average. In two seasons at ASU, he had 692 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Why is this important? Both Henderson and Williams have missed games this season, and teams are likely to favor defending the Buckeyes' passing game over the run game. Depth is key.

Jesse Mirco is still a star

Some day, in some big game, Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco will get credit for something other than being leveled on a fake punt.

Mirco again dropped a punt inside the 5, and another inside the 10. A third went to the 6, but Iowa returned it 15 yards. He averaged 45.3 yards on his three punts and is a secret weapon.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football beat Iowa: 5 things we learned about OSU