Columbus, OH—After a fumble recovery deep in their own territory, Ohio State continued to dominate, orchestrating a 7-play, 27-yard drive capped off by Emeka Egbuka’s third touchdown catch of the day.
Egbuka hauled in three touchdown passes, and Jeremiah Smith made a spectacular one-handed catch for another score as No. 3 Ohio State overcame a slow start to defeat Iowa 35-7 on Saturday.
Quarterback Will Howard completed 21 of 25 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding 28 rushing yards and a score. Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) corrected its first-half errors and dominated the third quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points.
Leading 7-0 at the break, the Buckeyes quickly gained momentum in the second half and never looked back after that.
With just 8 minutes left in the game, Iowa finally responded, bringing in quarterback Brendan Sullivan to replace Cade McNamara. Sullivan led the Hawkeyes on a 75-yard drive, which culminated in a 28-yard touchdown run by Kaleb Johnson to put the game away.
Ohio State’s defense held strong in the fourth quarter, while their offense played conservatively, securing a 5-0 start to the season.
“We really wanted to come out and have a great drive to start the third quarter,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “And then we started getting the short fields and the turnovers, and the game just flipped there. I think it ended up being 28 straight points.”
OSU amassed 203 yards on the ground. Quinshon Judkins rushed for 78, and TreVeyon Henderson had 61 for the afternoon.
Up next: the Buckeyes will travel to Autzen Stadium on Saturday, October 12th, for a 7:30 pm showdown against the #6 ranked Oregon Ducks in another Big Ten Conference matchup.
