Behind Enemy Lines: Breaking down Iowa’s trip to Ohio State with Buckeyes Wire
Iowa hits the road to take on No. 2 Ohio State. It’s the biggest challenge of the season thus far for the Hawkeyes. Per Tipico Sportsbook, the Hawkeyes are currently nearly 30-point underdogs.
“We face a big challenge this Saturday playing Ohio State. Pretty much any year I talk about Ohio State, you’re talking about a team that is very talented. They’re very well coached. That’s certainly the case this year in both of those areas,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of Ohio State.
In order to find out more about the Buckeyes, we enlisted the help of Buckeyes Wire managing editor Phil Harrison.
On QB C.J. Stroud
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hawkeyes Wire: C.J. Stroud is getting Heisman Trophy buzz. What’s impressed you about his play throughout this season and his career to date?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: Not many people know this, but Stroud was a late bloomer. He didn’t focus on football solely until his senior year of high school and then began to rise up the recruiting rankings. His work ethic and poise is off the charts and I don’t know that I’ve seen a kid develop to close to the ceiling he has so quickly. You can put the game film on and see that he doesn’t get rattled, even with guys in his face, and has a knack for making the right read and putting the ball in the place that makes the receivers Ohio State has look even better.
Buckeye wide receivers delivering minus Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
Hawkeyes Wire: The biggest credit to Ohio State’s skill players might be what they’ve been able to accomplish minus Jaxon Smith-Njigba. How have the Buckeyes been able to put up the numbers they have minus Smith-Njigba?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State has incredible momentum when it comes to recruiting at the wide receiver position and it’s all about wide receivers coach Brian Hartline. He’s a hands-on coach that isn’t far removed from playing in the NFL himself, and he really relates very well to the guys he recruits. He was first able to develop the guys he inherited to make them NFL draft picks and that has helped bring more four and five-star guys in the fold. You add that to the offensive scheme and success Ryan Day brought and the fact that quarterbacks are now coming to Columbus over a lot of other places and it’s not a bad spot to be as a skill position player.
On Ohio State's running back duo
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hawkeyes Wire: On a similar note, how good are Buckeye fans feeling to have a pair of running backs that look like stars in Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: It’s a very good luxury to have, especially as we get later into the season when you better have a running game to go along with the decline in weather conditions. Already this year, both Williams and Henderson have missed time and the other has been able to carry the load. Truth be known, even though Henderson was the more dynamic recruit, and Williams was a late add to his recruiting class, you could make the argument that Williams has meant more to the team so far this year.
Ohio State's defense
Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Hawkeyes Wire: Defensively, it looks like Ohio State is one of the Big Ten and nation’s best, surrendering just 253.5 yards per game. What’s working defensively?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: It’s all about new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Ohio State opened up the pocketbook to bring him in from Oklahoma State and he’s made a huge difference. Instead of sitting back and reading and reacting to what the offense is doing like the last couple of years, Knowles has the talent on that side of the ball playing more aggressively and attacking the offense. It’s a high-risk, high-reward defense, but you live with that when you have the offense the Buckeyes have. So far it’s been great and he hasn’t even opened up too many of the blitz packages that are a part of what he likes to do because he hasn’t had to.
NFL talent to watch on defense
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hawkeyes Wire: Building off that, Ohio State always has NFL talent defensively. Who should Iowa fans be on the lookout for in that regard?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: There are a few guys, but I’ll point out one that has really improved this year. One that has really benefitted from the change in scheme and mindset is linebacker Tommy Eichenberg. Early in his career, he was thinking too much and slow to react. Now, he is reading plays, attacking, and making plays. In fact, he leads the team in tackles and it’s been a long time coming because a position that has been one of strength historically hasn’t seen a lot of production from that unit the last few years.
Creating more turnovers
Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Hawkeyes Wire: If there’s one area Ohio State would like to improve, it’s probably in the turnovers gained department. How much talk has there been that the Buckeyes have forced just six turnovers this season to date?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: That has been a point yes. In fact, as aggressive as the defense is, it’s been somewhat of a surprise that more turnovers haven’t found their way into the stat sheet. They are starting to come now, but it is one area that you’d like to see more of.
An area for improvement
Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Hawkeyes Wire: Beyond the turnover department, where is one area Ohio State fans would like to see improvement?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: It probably plays into the above, but it’s without a doubt the play of the cornerbacks in one-on-one situations. Sophomore Denzel Burke was All-Freshman Big Ten last season but hasn’t carried that through. The corners are left on an island in this defense and he’s been beaten far too often as have others trying to lock down the outside. It has been a point of emphasis, and whenever there’s a big play by the opposition, the culprit has usually been poor play on the ball in the passing game.
2017 Iowa trashing of Ohio State
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Hawkeyes Wire: 2017 was a shocker for Ohio State with Iowa winning 55-24. Obviously, it’s all different faces across the board and this game isn’t being played at Kinnick, but how much of a rallying cry of revenge has there been this week from the Buckeyes?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: There hasn’t been a lot of talk about it but Ryan Day did touch on it this week, calling it a “scar” that doesn’t go away. Iowa really put it on Ohio State that day (it was a full moon that day by the way) and that doesn’t happen very often. You can bet that he’s reminded the team of that game, but he’s really the only one that was there so it probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to the players on the roster. Fans remember though because Iowa fans did do a lot of talking for a while after that, and deservedly so.
Impressions of Ryan Day
Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports
Hawkeyes Wire: From the outside, it seems like Ryan Day has done a tremendous job taking over for Urban Meyer. What’s your take on how things have gone so far for Ryan Day?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: He’s been great, and if anything he gets the off-the-field stuff much, much better than Meyer did. Just look at his work with mental illness and how he handled COVID and the George Floyd stuff, and you can see he gets the big picture. You thought there’d at least be a little drop off in recruiting but Day and his staff have done just as good — and in some cases — even better there.
He’s also next-level when it comes to X’s and O’s on offense and unlike Meyer, isn’t afraid to cut the chord on something or someone if it’s not working. Meyer was often his own worst enemy when it came to the loyalty of guys that weren’t getting it done. However, until there’s a national championship ring on Day’s finger, he won’t get the recognition he deserves.
Score prediction
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Hawkeyes Wire: Last but not least, let’s get a score prediction. Ohio State is a big favorite over Iowa. How do you see this contest playing out?
Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire: For all the woes the Iowa offense has had this year, the defense might be the best one Ohio State will face all season. I don’t think Ohio State is going to reach its average scoring output and the Hawkeyes will be able to slow the Buckeyes down in the red zone a little bit unlike other teams (OSU is 29-for-29 in the red zone this year). However, you can’t completely shut down this Buckeye offense and I don’t see any way Iowa can keep pace without a slew of turnovers and mistakes from Ohio State. I have Ohio State winning 31 to 10.
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