Iowa vs. Ohio State; which team has advantage at each position
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Maybe the only thing more difficult than beating Ohio State on the football field is finding a weakness on its depth chart.
When Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz says the third-ranked Buckeyes, who host Iowa on Saturday, are impressive in all regards, he isn’t just saying it to be nice.
“I’ll say three facts about Ohio State; first and foremost, they have really good players in all three phases, and I think are deserving of their ranking,” Kirk Ferentz said. “They’ve had great production in all three phases, and they’re really well-coached in all three phases. It’s kind of what you’d expect of them, a top-ranked team like that, very impressive in all regards.
“On top of that, we’re playing in a very hostile environment. The Big Ten is full of a lot of tough venues to go to, and certainly Columbus fits that bill.”
Iowa has yet to win in Columbus in six tries under Kirk Ferentz.
Ohio Stadium is the only Big Ten stadium in which Kirk Ferentz hasn’t prevailed, not including the four new conference members from the West Coast.
It’s hard to think of the last time Ohio State wasn’t very good.
There was the transition year in 2011 when the Buckeyes finished 6-7 under interim head coach Luke Fickell.
But then Urban Meyer was hired as head coach, and he would go on to win a national title in 2014. His teams also won at least 12 games in six of his seven season as the Ohio State head coach, and the one exception in 2016, Ohio State won 11 games.
Ryan Day is in his sixth season as the head Buckeye, and he will enter Saturday’s game with an impressive 60-8 record.
His problem is that he’s lost three straight games against Michigan, and that doesn’t sit well with Buckeye fans, whose expectations are as high as any fan base.
Buckeye fans demand a lot from their beloved football team because they know just how much talent is on the roster each season.
Here is a look at how Ohio State and Iowa compare at each position:
Quarterback: The matchup at quarterback between Cade McNamara and Will Howard is certainly a sign of the times as the transfer portal continues to change rosters.
A former Michigan quarterback versus a former Kansas State quarterback.
McNamara and Howard both were successful at their previous schools, but in this age of the transfer portal, quarterbacks are constantly on the move.
McNamara is coming off two straight season-ending knee injuries and he hasn’t played a full season since 2021 when he led Michigan to a Big Ten title and to a win over Ohio State.
This will be just the fourth Big Ten game that McNamara has started for Iowa.
His passing statistics to this point are average at best, but that is partly due to the success of the running game.
McNamara has completed 64-of-102 passes for 588 yards and three touchdowns this season. So far, he hasn’t been asked to throw much down field.
Howard has completed 72-of-105 passes for 1,039 yards and eight touchdowns. His longest completion gained 70 yards, while McNamara’s longest completion gained 33 yards.
Howard also has the luxury of playing with one of the best group of receivers in the country.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Running back: There will be at least three future NFL running backs playing in Saturday’s game, and maybe more.
Representing Ohio State will be the dynamic duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, while leading the way for Iowa will be Hamilton, Ohio native Kaleb Johnson.
Judkins and Henderson have ushed for 390 and 296 yards, respectively in four games, while Johnson has 685 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in jut 3 ½ games.
Judkins played his first two season for Ole Miss, where as a freshman in 2022 he set school records with 1,567 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns and he also caught 15 passes for 132 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 1,158 yards as a sophomore last season before entering the transfer portal.
Henderson, a former five-star recruit from Hopewell, Virginia, ranks 12th on Ohio State’s all-time rushing list with 3,021 yards. He also has scored 36 touchdowns as a Buckeye.
Judkins will enter Saturday’s game with 3,115 career rushing yards.
All three of the featured running backs average at least eight yards per carry and are capable of scoring from just about anywhere on the field.
In fact, Johnson has 12 rushes of 20 yards or more this season, while Judkins has an 86-yard run this season.
Johnson is hardly a solo act, however, as backup running backs Jaziun Patterson and Kamari Moulton have rushed for 138 and 124 yards, respectively, this season.
Senior Leshon Williams, who led Iowa in rushing last season with 821 yards, should also be available Saturday according to Kirk Ferentz. Williams has been slowed by injuries this season.
This was a difficult choice, which shows just how much the Iowa running game has improved under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Wide receiver: The Buckeyes are always loaded at wide receiver and this season is certainly no exception.
Senior Emeka Egbuka and freshman Jeremiah Smith have combined for 726 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Smith, a former five-star recruit from Florida, leads the team with 364 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, and is averaging a whopping 19.2 yards per catch.
Egbuka has 362 receiving yards and is averaging 17.1 yards per reception. He has played in 39 games overall for Ohio State with 28 starts. He also has 16 touchdown receptions as a Buckeye.
Sophomore Carnell Tate gives the Buckeyes a third explosive option at wide receiver as he has 14 catches for 219 yards and one touchdown. He also has caught a pass in 15 of the 17 games in which he has played.
Junior wide receiver Jacob Gill, a transfer from Northwestern, leads Iowa with 13 catches for 145 yards and one touchdown.
True freshman Reece Vander Zee has seven catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
No other wide receiver for Iowa has more than two catches.
Iowa could receive a boost from the expected return of Seth Anderson, who hasn’t played yet this season due to an injury. He had 11 catches for 150 receiving yards and one touchdown last season.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Tight end: Ohio State junior Gee Scott, a converted wide receiver, caught his third touchdown pass of his career in last Saturday’s 38-7 win at Michigan State.
But he hasn’t been used much in the passing game this season and only has four catches for 19 yards.
Senior Will Kacmarek has three catches for 14 yards.
Iowa’s tight ends are more involved in the passing game as Luke Lachey and Addison Ostrenga have 12 and 11 catches, respectively.
Lachey, who is from Columbus, Ohio and the son of former Ohio State All-America offensive lineman Jim Lachey, has made 17 career starts and played in 24 games overall. He has 52 catches for 725 yards and four touchdowns.
The Iowa tight ends also have excelled in run blocking this season as evidenced by Johnson’s rushing yards.
Advantage: Iowa
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Offensive line: Both units are led by experienced multi-year starters who are performing at a high level right now.
Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons, who started his career at San Diego State, had made 30 career starts, while left guard Donovan Jackson has started 28 games and twice made first-team All-Big Ten.
Fifth-year senior Josh Fryar starts at right tackle for the Buckeyes and the Indiana native made first-team all-Big Ten last season in his first season as the starter at right tackle.
Ohio State needed help at center and has added it with the addition of Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin, who started 24 games over three seasons with Alabama.
Junior Tegra Tshabola started the first four games at right tackle for the Buckeyes after having played in 13 games last season.
Iowa’s five starters on the offensive line – left tackle Mason Richman (43), left guard Beau Stephens (14), center Logan Jones (30), right guard Connor Colby (41) and right tackle Gennings Dunker (18) have combined for 146 starts.
All five of Iowa’s starters have had their share of growing pains, but everything seems to be clicking this season, especially with run blocking.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Defensive line: There are few teams that compare favorably to Iowa on defense, but Ohio State, which only allows 6.8 points per game, is certainly one of the few.
And it starts up front where the Buckeye are led by four senior starters, including one of the best defensive end tandems in the country in Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau.
Sawyer has played in 42 games since the start of the 2022 season and he made second-team All-Big Ten last season.
Tuimoloau has 93 career tackles, including 25.5 tackles for loss. He also leads the team this season with 2.5 sacks.
At defensive tackle, Ohio State is expected to receive a boost from the return of Tyleik Williams, who missed the previous two games. He has 100 career tackles, including 20.0 tackles for loss.
Rounding out the front four is fifth-year senior Ty Hamilton, who has played in 45 games with 17 starts. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten last season.
Kayden McDonald, a 6-3, 326-pound sophomore, gives Ohio State a third option at defensive tackle.
Iowa’s defensive line is also a formidable unit.
The four starters – defensive end Deontae Craig (18), defensive tackle Aaron Graves (4), defensive tackle Yahya Black (18) and defensive end Ethan Hurkett (4) have combined for 44 career starts and have played in 149 games overall.
Hurkett and backup defensive end Brian Allen lead the Iowa defensive linemen with 3.5 tackles for loss, while Graves leads the team with three sacks.
This was a difficult choice because both units are rock solid.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Linebacker: Iowa has arguably the best linebacker duo in the country in fifth-year senior Jay Higgins and sixth-year graduate Nick Jackson.
Higgins leads the team with 34 tackles, and has led the team in tackles in each of the four games this season. The Indianapolis native also has two interceptions, two pass break-ups, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble.
Higgins earned All-America honors last season, and he also tied Iowa’s single-season record for tackles with 171.
Jackson played his first four seasons for Virginia where he recorded 489 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, and 15.5 sacks.
The Atlanta, Georgia native has started 51 games in college and played in 64 games overall.
He is also just 89 tackles shy of becoming the all-time FBS tackles leader.
Iowa also has an experienced third option at linebacker in graduate Kyler Fisher, who has played in 51 games with four starts. Fisher had six tackles against Iowa State and has 11 tackles overall this season.
He usually plays when Iowa shifts to a 4-3 defensive alignment.
As for the Buckeye linebackers, they’re talented and productive as usual.
Team captain Cody Simon, a graduate student, has played in 47 games with 18 starts.
Junior Sonny Styles, a former defensive back, leads the team with 23 tackles. He played in all 13 games last season at safety.
Ohio State’s other listed starter at linebacker in its 4-2-5 alignment is junior C.J. Hicks. He made his first career start in the 2024 season opener against Akron and has 12 tackles in four games.
Advantage: Iowa
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Secondary: Two of the best defensive backfields in the Big Ten, if not the country, will be on the field Saturday.
Ohio State usually starts five defensive backs and each of the five starters is highly productive.
Alabama transfer Caleb Downs had a team-high six tackles in the 38-7 victory over Michigan State last Saturday. He also had 107 tackles and five pass break-ups while playing safety for Alabama last season.
Graduate safety Lathan Ransom is Ohio State’s active career leader in tackles with 172. He has played in 43 games with 25 starts.
He also has forced a fumble in each of the past two games.
The Buckeyes start three cornerbacks, including senior Denzel Burke, who has started every game in which he has played (39). The Scottsdale, Arizona native ranks first nationally among defensive backs in consecutive starts.
His 26 career pass break-ups also rank sixth in program history, and he has a team-best two interceptions this season.
Senior Jordan Hancock has played in 29 games, including 11 starts. He is second among the Ohio State defensive backs with 14 tackles this season.
Junior cornerback Davison Igbinosun finished third on the team last season in total tackles (59) and solo tackles (39.)
Iowa also often plays five defensive backs, and those players have combined for 100 career starts, led by Quinn Schulte’s 31 starts at free safety.
Schulte is one of three graduate students that start in Iowa’s secondary, the others being safety/cash Sebastian Castro and cornerback Jermari Harris.
Castro has made 24 career starts and played in 45 games overall. He earned all-America accolades last season and made second-team All-Big Ten.
He has 17 tackles, one forced fumble, and one pass break-up this season.
Harris has started 22 games as a Hawkeye, and he has seven career interceptions, including a pick-six against Troy this season.
Junior Deshaun Lee is expected to make his eighth career start at cornerback in Saturday’s game. Lee became the starter after junior T.J. Hall struggled against Troy in the third game.
Iowa’s fifth stater in the secondary is junior and former five-star recruit Xavier Nwankpa, who had Ohio State among his top schools before signing with Iowa.
Nwankpa has made 16 starts at strong safety and played in 30 games overall.
Sophomore Koen Entringer has also started to see more action at strong safety, especially in passing situations.
Advantage: Ohio State
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Special teams: It’s hard to evaluate Buckeye kicker Jayden Fielding because so many of Ohio State’s drives have resulted in touchdowns.
So far, Fielding has made two field goals from 40 and 30 yards, while Iowa junior Drew Stevens has made all six of his field-goal attempts this season, and he is 40-of-50 in career field-goal attempts.
Iowa freshman punter Rhys Dakin is improving with each game as he faces the daunting task of replacing fellow Melbourne, Australia native and four-year starter Tory Taylor, who now punts for the Chicago Bears.
Dakin has punted 23 times for a 43.7 average. Ten of his punts have been downed inside the 20 and six have traveled at least 50 yards.
Ohio State punter Joe McGuire is averaging 42.1 yards on 11 attempts with a long of 51 yards.
Brandon Inniss is averaging 9.6 yards per punt return for Ohio Ste, while Kaden Wetjen is averaging 7.7 yards per return for Iowa.
Advantage: Iowa