Iowa vs. No. 2 Ohio State; which team has the advantage at each position
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – If statistics, point spreads and what you see on television and tape means anything, then Saturday’s game between Iowa and second-ranked Ohio State should be a mismatch.
Playing in Columbus, Ohio where Ohio State hasn’t lost a Big Ten game since 2015, will be hard enough for 3-3 Iowa. But this talent-packed Buckeye squad is on a mission after having failed to win the Big Ten East Division last season.
Ohio State almost always has a very good team, but the current team might be special because it’s been dominant on both offense and defense this season.
In fact, Ohio State and defending national champion Georgia are the only teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in both total offense and total defense.
Ohio State is second in total offense (543.7) and fifth in defense (253.5).

Iowa and Ohio State haven’t met since the incredible game in 2017 when the Hawkeyes demolished Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes 55-24 at Kinnick Stadium.
Ryan Day has since replaced Meyer as the head Buckeye, and Day has Ohio State on a roll as evidenced by the 29-point spread for Saturday’s game.
This will also be the first time Iowa has played in Columbus since losing 34-24 in 2013.
“Pretty much any year I talk about Ohio State, you’re talking about a team that is very talented,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “They’re very well coached. That’s certainly the case this year in both of those areas.
“As you might expect, ranked near the top of the national polls for good reason. They have a really good football team. Very explosive offensively. You start with the quarterback, a tremendous player. They have great receivers and a big physical offensive line. Probably as big as we’ve seen, and they’re executing at a high level. Good tight ends and good running backs.”
“They’re explosive, as I said, and they score points in a hurry. That jumps out at you. Tough to knock them off their track. That’s the biggest challenge. Defensively, talented at all three levels. They have a good defensive linemen, outstanding linebackers, and good guys in the secondary.
“The other thing I notice about them quickly is they play a lot of guys on defense. There’s a lot of players in and out, and doesn’t matter who’s in there. They’re playing at a really high level.”
The position breakdowns support what Kirk Ferentz said about the Buckeyes in that they’re loaded on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Here is a look at which team has the advantage at each position, and from Iowa’s standpoint, it’s isn’t pretty.
Quarterback: No disrespect to Spencer Petras, but this is like comparing Led Zeppelin to Ambrosia.
Petras has thrown just two touchdown passes this season, and 21 touchdowns passes overall in 25 games as a starter, while Ohio State sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud has thrown 24 touchdown passes in six games this season.
That should be enough to explain why Stroud has the clear advantage, but here are a few more statistical comparisons between the two starting quarterbacks.
Stroud has passed for 1,737 yards in six games, and is completing 70.6 percent of his passes, while Petras has 940 passing yards in six games, and is completing 54 percent of his passes.
Stroud also has a 205.7 efficiency rating, while Petras has a 103.5 efficiency rating.
Stroud is also more mobile than Petras, but Stroud rarely has had to use his mobility because the Buckeye offense has been so effective. He only has 10 carries for 16 yards this season, but Stroud is a threat with his legs
Advantage: Ohio State
Running back: The Buckeyes are averaging 228.0 rushing yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry as a team.
Iowa is averaging 82.2 rushing yards per game and just 2.6 yards per carry.
So, you know where this comparison is headed.
Ohio State features two of the best running backs in the Big Ten in Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson.
Williams leads the team with 502 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and is averaging an impressive 7.3 yards per carry, while Henderson, a former five-star recruit, has rushed for 445 yards and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Both players are threats to score from anywhere on the field, and they almost always have fresh legs from sharing playing time.
Williams, at 5-foot-9 and 235 pounds, runs with both power and finesse and he scored five touchdowns in the 49-10 victory over Rutgers on Oct. 1, including a season-long 70-yard scamper.
Sophomore Leshon Williams leads Iowa with 236 rushing yards, while true freshman and Ohio native Kaleb Johnson has 232 rushing yards.
Johnson has seen his playing time increase in recent games and he leads all the Iowa running backs with a 4.6 yards-per-carry average.
Advantage: Ohio State
Receiver: Ohio State had to replace two receivers that were picked in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, but you’d never know it from how well the current Buckeye receivers are playing.
And they’ve done it mostly without the services of their best receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has only played briefly in two games this season because of an injury.
Smith-Njigba is expected to be at close to full speed for the Iowa game after coming off a bye week, and combine him with Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., and Ohio State has arguably the best receiver triumvirate in college football.
Egbuka leads the Buckeyes with 35 catches for 655 yards, while Harrison leads the team, and the nation, with nine touchdown catches.
Egbuka is averaging a whopping 18.7 yards-per-catch, while Harrison is averaging 17.3 yards-per-catch.
As for Smith-Njigba, he finished with 95 catches for 1,606 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season while playing alongside two future NFL first-round draft picks at receiver.
Smith-Njigba had 15 catches for 347 yards and three scores in Ohio State’s 48-45 victory over Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl.
Julian Fleming is yet another threat at receiver for the Buckeyes as he has 15 catches for 222 yards and five touchdowns while appearing in four games this season.
The Iowa receivers, on the other hand, have combined for just one of the team’s two touchdown catches this season, and no receiver has more than 14 catches this season.
So, this is yet another position where it’s just not close.
Advantage: Ohio State
Tight end: Senior captain Cade Stover will play in his 28th career game on Saturday for Ohio State, and he seems to have found a home at tight end after having previously played defensive end and linebacker.

Stover is third on the team with 16 receptions and both of his touchdown catches came in the victory over Wisconsin.
But this is one position where the Buckeyes don’t have huge advantage.
Iowa senior Sam LaPorta was considered one of the top tight ends in the country heading into the season, and while the offense has struggled, he has lived up to that reputation with a team-high 30 receptions for 279 yards.
Sophomore backup Luke Lachey, who is from Ohio, has also played well with nine catches for 157 yards and one touchdown.
He and LaPorta often play together, and that could be the case again on Saturday since Petras seems more comfortable throwing to his tight ends.
Advantage: Iowa
Offensive line: The Buckeyes are loaded in the trenches, but especially on offense where they have one of the top offensive lines in the country.
Ohio State has three offensive linemen that have started at least 19 games, and a fourth that has made 10 career starts.
Ohio State’s electrifying skill players get most of the attention, but it’s these big guys up front that make it happen.
Dawand Jones has stated 20 consecutive games at right tackle, while Paris Johnson has started 19 games in a row at left tackle.
Luke Wypler has also started 19 games at center and is second on the team with 860 snaps from scrimmage.
Matt Jones and Donovan Jackson round out the starting five for Ohio State. Jones has started 10 games and played in 35 games overall, while the 6-4, 300-pound Jackson has started all six games this season after having played 100 snaps as a true freshman last season.
Iowa has started the same five offensive linemen throughout the season, but the results have been underwhelming as the group has struggled with both run blocking and pass blocking.
Iowa’s starting five are sophomore Mason Richman at left tackle, junior Nick DeJong at left guard, sophomore Logan Jones at center, redshirt freshman Beau Stephens at right guard and sophomore Connor Colby at right tackle.
Each has had their moments this season, but not enough to suggest that any are on the verge of a breakout season.
Advantage: Ohio State
Defensive line: Much like the situation on the offensive line, Ohio State is loaded with talent and experience on the defensive line.
Defensive end Zach Harrison has 17.5 career tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks, while 290-pound sophomore tackle Michael Hall Jr. leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss this season.
Senior Taron Vincent has started all six games at defensive tackle and the 6-2, 300-pounder has 42 tackles in 33 games.
Fifth-year senior Javontae Jean-Baptiste and sophomores Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau give the Buckeyes three solid defensive ends.
Ohio State is only allowing 93.17 rushing yards per game, and these guys have a lot to do with that success against the run.
Iowa also has an experienced defensive line where its four starters have combined for 67 career starts, led by senior tackle Noah Shannon with 21 career starts.
Senior defensive end John Waggoner and junior defensive tackle Logan Lee both have made 20 career starts, while senior defensive end Joe Evans has started all six games this season and played extensively in 36 games.
Sophomore Luka Van Ness isn’t technically a starter, but he might have the most potential amongst all the defensive linemen.
He has played in 20 games as a Hawkeye and has 18 tackles, including six for losses, this season. He also tied a school record with two blocked punts against Iowa State.
Advantage: Ohio State
Linebacker: Iowa usually has the edge at linebacker where seniors Jack Campbell and Seth Benson form one of the best combos in the Big Ten.
But this was a tough choice due to Ohio State’s overall talent and depth at these positions.
Campbell leads Iowa with 62 tackles, and his average of 10.3 tackles per game ranks second in the Big Ten, while Benson is second on the team with 51 tackles.
Benson has also started 27 games, while Campbell has made 21 starts.
Iowa is hurt from the loss of junior linebacker and Ohio native Jestin Jacobs, who recently had season-ending surgery.
Senior captain Tommy Eichenberg leads Ohio State with 50 tackles through six games, and he was also the Defensive MVP for the 2022 Rose Bowl with 17 tackles. Eichenberg had a season-high 14 tackles against Wisconsin this season, including two for losses.
Steele Chambers, a converted running back, is second on the team with 31 tackles, while Cody Simon has five or more tackles in seven of 12 games. Simon also started 10 games last season.
Advantage: Ohio State
Secondary: Both teams are strong at these positions, and Iowa will likely use five defensive backs for much of Saturday’s game to counter Ohio State’s speed, quickness and big-play capability.
Senior Ronnie Hickman has started 18 consecutive games for Ohio State at safety and he led the team with 100 tackles last season, while sophomore cornerback Denzel Burke last became the first true freshman at Ohio State to start a season opener since Andy Katzenmoyer in 1996.
Burke has started every game since then, and he leads the team with four pass break-ups this season.

Fifth-year senior safety Josh Proctor has appeared in 35 games with eight starts, while senior cornerback Cameron Brown has played in 35 games with nine starts. Brown also finished second on the team last season with eight passes defended.
Third-year safety Lathan Ranson is another key piece to the Buckeye secondary. His 21 tackles rank fourth on the team.
Iowa’s secondary has a nice blend of youth and experience with first-year starters Cooper DeJean and Quinn Schulte combining with seniors to Riley Moss and Kaevon Merriweather to form a solid group.
DeJean has played both safety and cornerback this season and he had an interception in three straight games against Iowa State, Nevada and Rutgers.
He is also third on team with 37 tackles, and he has five pass break-ups.
Schulte has started all six games at free safety and is fourth on the team with 34 tackles.
Moss has started 32 games as a cornerback and appeared in 47 games overall. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year last season despite missing three games because of a knee injury.
Merriweather has played in 39 games as a strong safety with 18 career starts.
He has 28 tackles in six games this season, and was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Rutgers when he returned a fumble for a touchdown and had an interception.
Junior safety Sebastian Castro also plays a key role when Iowa uses five defensive backs. He has 13 tackles and two pass break-ups this season.
Advantage: Ohio State
Special teams: The fact that Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles has only attempted three field goal this season is a testimony to just how dominant the Buckeyes have been on offense.
Ruggles has made two of his three attempts, while Iowa freshman Drew Stevens is 6-for-7 in field goals with a long from 51 yards.
Stevens also handles kickoffs where he has 16 touchbacks in 22 kicks.
Iowa features one of the nation’s top punters in 25-year old junior Tory Taylor, who is averaging 46.1 yards on 40 attempts.
Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco is averaging 44.8 yards on just 18 attempts.
Emeka Egbuka, in addition to being a standout receiver, is also a talented return specialist. He just hasn’t had many opportunities to return kicks because opponents have scored so infrequently this season.
Advantage: Iowa