No. 3 Ohio State overpowers Iowa in second half for 35-7 win

Jeremiah Smith once again provided a highlight catch and Will Howard threw four touchdown passes to help spark No. 3 Ohio State to a 35-7 victory over Iowa in Big Ten play at Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

The Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0) held a 7-0 lead early in the third quarter when Smith made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. The score came one play after his 53-yard catch on a throw by Will Howard.

Smith made two similar spectacular catches, one for a TD, in the previous game vs. Michigan State.

Iowa (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) fell behind 21-0 when, on its next possession, Cade McNamara was sacked and lost a fumble at the Iowa 19-yard line to set up a Howard 4-yard scoring run.

The Buckeyes extended the lead to 28-0 with 13 seconds left in the third quarter on a 15-yard reception by Emeka Egbuka, who opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 14-yard catch.

Egbuka added his third TD, a 3-yard catch, in the fourth quarter to make it 35-0.

Smith had four catches for 89 yards and Egbuka nine grabs for 71 yards. Howard was 21-of-25 passing for 209 yards and an interception, and the Ohio State defense forced McNamara into two fumbles and an interception. He was 14-of-20 passing for 98 yards.

Iowa entered the game allowing 62.0 yards rushing but gave up 110 in the first half as the Buckeyes held a 199-90 advantage in totals yards and had 11 of the 15 first downs.

The Buckeyes had 203 rushing yards for the game while holding a 412-226 edge in total offense.

Hawkeyes back Kaleb Johnson, who had a career-high 206 yards against Minnesota on Sept. 21, was limited to 19 yards on eight carries in the first half.

He had a 28-yard TD run to make it 35-7 in the fourth quarter and finished with 86 yards on 15 carries.

The win sets up the long-anticipated first matchup as conference opponents when the Buckeyes play at No. 6 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) next Saturday. The Ducks defeated Michigan State 31-14 on Friday.

--Field Level Media