No. 2 Ohio State plays host to Iowa in a Saturday showdown featuring two Big Ten teams with totally different identities. The Buckeyes are undefeated and coming off a bye week while looking to stay on track toward a berth in the College Football Playoff. Iowa is coming off a bye, as well, but unlike Ohio State, the Hawkeyes are looking to salvage a season headed in the wrong direction. Iowa has lost two straight, and a loss to the Buckeyes would drop them to 1-3 in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes haven't lost three Big Ten games in a season since 2019, when they went 6-3 and 10-3 overall. Considering their history against Ohio State, it's safe to assume that streak will end this weekend. Iowa won the last meeting 55-24, but that game was in Iowa City, Iowa, and it was back in the 2017 season. Ohio State has dominated the series 46-15-3 since the schools first met in 1922.
So we're either in for business as usual this weekend or one of the biggest upsets of 2022.
Follow LIVE updates from Ohio State vs. Iowa here.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Iowa live
Date: Saturday, October 22 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Ohio Stadium -- Columbus, Ohio
TV: Fox | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Ohio State vs. Iowa: Need to know
Only one team has held Ohio State below 45 points this season: It was Notre Dame, which held the Buckeyes to 21 points in a 21-0 Ohio State victory. In fact, Ohio State has scored at least 40 points in 14 of its last 19 games dating back to last season, but it's facing a team build on defense an complementary football. Not many teams score 40 points against the Hawkeyes. In fact, only three have since the 2016 season (Penn State in 2016, Iowa State in 2017 and Michigan in 2021). If Iowa isn't able to slow down the Buckeyes its chances of winning this game will be very low because...
Iowa has scored 30 points in only one of its last 15 games: Yep. While the Hawkeyes beat Maryland 51-14 last October, that was the result of roughly a billion Maryland turnovers. After that, the only time the Hawkeyes scored more than 30 points in a game was in a 33-23 win over Illinois last November. Slowing the Buckeyes offense down is important, but nobody is going to stop it. So Iowa needs to figure out a way to score points, which has been a significant problem for it. The Hawkeyes enter the weekend ranked 127th nationally (of 131) with only 14.7 points per game. They've been held to single digits in three of their six games.
C.J. Stroud may look to make a statement: Well, maybe Stroud won't, but his coach Ryan Day might. It sure has felt like Ryan Day has been coaching with Stroud's Heisman campaign in mind, leaving his quarterback in games longer than he probably needs to, and I commend him for it. It's good for his player and his program. Still, there might be added incentive this week because while Stroud remains the Heisman favorite, his lead shrunk considerably last week while the Buckeyes were at home. Tennessee's Hendon Hooker threw five touchdowns in an upset win over Alabama and gained a lot of momentum. Don't be surprised if Day and the Buckeyes do everything they can to help Stroud answer with a big game against a top defense.
Ohio State vs. Iowa prediction, picks
If I haven't made it clear yet, I don't like Iowa's chances of winning this game. That said, I have too much respect for the Iowa defense to not take the 29 points I'm getting on the spread. The Hawkeyes secondary has been one of the best in the country year after year, and while it's not going to stop the Buckeyes, it's better-equipped to slow them down than most other teams. The Buckeyes never sweat the result, but the Hawkeyes won't be embarrassed too badly. Prediction: Iowa +29
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