Ohio State Pulls Away in Second Half to Blow Out Iowa, 35-7

By Dan Hope on October 5, 2024 at 6:38 pm
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A tight game for one half rapidly turned into an Ohio State blowout in the second half.

After scoring only once in the first half against Iowa, the Buckeyes started the second half with four straight touchdowns to pull away from the Hawkeyes en route to a 35-7 win, improving Ohio State’s record to 5-0 entering its highly anticipated clash with Oregon.

Will Howard accounted for five total touchdowns with Emeka Egbuka catching three of Howard’s four touchdown passes while Ohio State’s defense shut the Hawkeyes out until the fourth quarter.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#3 Ohio State 7 0 21 7 35
IOWA 0 0 0 7 7
OCT. 5, 2024 • Ohio STADIUM • Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive after forcing Iowa to punt on its first possession. The Buckeyes drove 88 yards in 14 plays, completing the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Egbuka.

That was the first opening-drive touchdown allowed by Iowa in its last 27 games – but it would be the only score by either team in the first half.

Both teams’ second possessions ended with missed opportunities in opposing territory as Drew Stevens missed a 51-yard field goal for Iowa and Howard was stopped short on a 4th-and-2 rush attempt for Ohio State. The Buckeyes forced a 3-and-out on Iowa’s third possession – the Hawkeyes called a fake punt and would have converted it, but it was negated by Iowa calling a timeout before the snap; Iowa proceeded to actually punt it, with Rhys Dakin’s punt traveling only 22 yards.

Two plays later, Jeremiah Smith fumbled on a catch-and-run and Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins – who also forced the fumble – recovered the loose ball for a takeaway after it slipped through Donovan Jackson’s hands.

After both teams punted on their fourth possessions, Ohio State forced another Iowa 3-and-out deep in Hawkeye territory, calling timeouts after all three plays to get the ball back with 1:13 to play before halftime. The Buckeyes’ final possession of the first half lasted only 13 seconds, however, as Howard was picked off by Sebastian Castro on a downfield throw intended for Egbuka.

Ohio State’s offense got going again on its opening drive of the second half as Smith hauled in a 53-yard deep ball from Howard and followed it up with a one-handed touchdown catch – his second in as many weeks – to give the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead.

Jack Sawyer forced a turnover on Iowa’s first offensive play of the second half with a strip sack. Cody Simon recovered the fumble, and Howard ran for a 4-yard touchdown three plays later – his fourth in as many games – to make it 21-0 just seven minutes and one second into the third quarter.

Davison Igbinosun came away with another takeaway for the Buckeye defense on Iowa’s second possession of the third quarter as he made his first career interception on a McNamara pass tipped by Simon.

Ohio State scored its third touchdown of the third quarter with 13 seconds left in the period when Howard connected with Egbuka on a perfect pass to the left side of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.

The Buckeye defense forced its third takeaway in as many possessions on the opening play of the fourth quarter as Ty Hamilton forced a McNamara fumble that Kenyatta Jackson Jr. recovered. The offense followed that up with its fourth straight touchdown as Egbuka scored his third touchdown of the game from three yards out.

With backups in the game for Ohio State’s defense, Iowa scored its only touchdown of the game with 8:07 left to play as Kaleb Johnson ran past Jermaine Mathews Jr. and jogged into the end zone for a 28-yard score.

Ohio State will now take a 5-0 record to Eugene, Oregon, where the Buckeyes will face Oregon – who is also 5-0 this season – in a battle of top-10 teams that’s been anticipated all season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with NBC televising the game.

Team Stats

BUCKEYES      HAWKEYES
412 TOTAL YARDS 226
203 RUSHING YARDS 116
40 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 27
5.1 AVERAGE PER RUSH 4.3
1 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1
209 PASSING YARDS 110
21-25 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 15-21
10.0 YARDS PER COMPLETION 7.3
4 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1
21 1st DOWNS 10
65 TOTAL PLAYS 48
6.3 YARDS PER PLAY 4.7
7-11 3RD DOWNS 5-12
1-10 PENALTIES 1-5
34:46 POSSESSION 25:14
3 TURNOVERS 2

Game Notes

  • Carnell Tate did not play after being listed as questionable on the pregame status report. With Tate sidelined, Ohio State started the game in a two-tight end set with Gee Scott Jr. and Will Kacmarek. Bryson Rodgers entered the game once the Buckeyes moved into a three-receiver lineup.
  • Defensive tackle Tyleik Williams returned to action after two weeks out of the lineup with an injury.
  • Ohio State wore its all-gray alternate uniforms for the second time after debuting them for last year’s home game against Michigan State.
  • Former Ohio State offensive tackle Chris Ward was honored on the field between the first and second quarters for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
  • Ohio State honored the 1974 team for the 50th anniversary of its Big Ten championship season and the 1979 team for the 45th anniversary of its Big Ten championship season during the second quarter.
  • Ohio State held a halftime recognition for its 14 new members of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame: Christy Blough (men’s volleyball, 2014-17), Chase Buchanan (men’s tennis, 2009-12), Tiffany Cameron (women’s soccer, 2009-12), Michael Hartfield (track and field, 2011-13), Jeff Logan (football, 1974-77), Marisa Main (women’s volleyball, 2004-06), Brian Mannino (baseball, 1992-95), Braxton Miller (football, 2011-15), Kathy Monard (XC/track and field, 1986-87), Greg Oden (men’s basketball, 2006-07), Tony Russo (men’s lacrosse, 2001-04), Gene Smith (administration, 2005-24), Kyle Snyder (wrestling, 2015-18), Matt Wilhelm (football, 1999-2002)
  • 105,135 people attended the game.
  • Jeremiah Smith is the first Ohio State freshman ever to catch a touchdown pass in all of the first five games of the season.
  • Will Howard became the first Ohio State quarterback with rushing touchdowns in four straight games since Justin Fields ran for touchdowns in all of Ohio State’s first six games in 2019.

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