5 things we learned from the Ohio State victory over Iowa Saturday

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day headed into the contest at Iowa convinced the game would be a fourth-quarter affair, especially with the history of things and with what the Hawkeyes did in an upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor the week prior.

Instead, the Buckeyes took control of the game at the end of the second quarter and polished things off rather convincingly in a 31-14 victory in a hostile environment. A loss would have significantly wounded all of the big goals set before the season, but instead, a win might be a catalyst towards all of those things.

We were along for the ride with live updates and commentary, but we also like to look back on the game and pull out some things we think we learned about Ohio State after each contest, and we’re ready to do the same with this one.

Here are five things we think we learned from the Ohio State victory over Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

Ja’Kobi Jackson is scoring and dancing for @OhioStateFB. pic.twitter.com/yCBqH2DB3A

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 3, 2026

Two guys got the bulk of the work on Saturday, and both go by the last name Jackson. Bo and Ja’Kobi got almost equal splits, and the result of what’s building was much better than we’ve seen in the first four weeks. The predictable runs when Ohio State was trying to run out the clock don’t make the stats as impressive, but at one point, both were averaging over six yards per carry.

They both ran harder, got yards after contact, and seemed to make something out of nothing against a really good run defense. Neither reached the century mark, but both got more than 70 yards toward a team total of 160 yards on the ground. The total could be more, but when you put that with the passing game the Buckeyes can roll out on the field; the offense is awfully hard to contain.

ARTHUR SMITH GOT JULIAN SAYIN LOOKIN LIKE RODGERS😂 pic.twitter.com/A5EYg8lbPE

— wok (@wokdior) October 3, 2026

Batman and Robin showed up again today. Batman is, of course, Jeremiah Smith, and he’s been so good that we’re forgetting about the season quarterback Julian Sayin is putting together. Remember, someone has to put the ball in the right place for the current Heisman front-runner to get his moments, and Sayin is looking his way often.

Not only did the California native complete 20-of-27 passes for 326 yards, but he’s starting to pick up some rushing yards on the ground to take advantage of what the defense forces him to do. Sayin currently leads the Big Ten by far in ESPN’s Total QBR metric and is second in the country behind Miami’s Darian Mensah. Let’s not forget about Sayin getting to New York for the Heisman ceremony for the second straight season.

After the Buckeyes got the fourth down conversion Ryan Day was in the middle of the offensive huddle firing the guys up.

The Buckeyes are up 31-14 with 2 minutes to play, but Day isn’t letting up. pic.twitter.com/jSFE4E8NsH

— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) October 3, 2026

The prevailing thought heading into Iowa City is that the Buckeyes might fall to the Iowa style of play. You know it by now: low-scoring, defense, field position, running the ball, and special teams. That certainly looked to be the case early on, as the OSU offensive drives often stalled out, but once things got cooking, there was no looking back.

Lost in all of that, though, is that Ohio State really beat Iowa at its own game, just with better players. The Buckeyes won the time-of-possession battle (38:02 to 21:58), forced more turnovers on defense (2 to 0), and outgained Iowa on the ground (160 yards to just 39). It was a game that former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel would have been smiling about from ear to ear.

Ohio State can air it out and play fast, get into a slog, or somewhere in between, it seems.

Kenyatta Jackson Jr. on Ohio State’s defensive effort today in the win over Iowa:

“We knew the quarterback, he struggled with man-to-man coverage. We sent some pressure at him, and he couldn’t handle it.” pic.twitter.com/DyS3CCpqcc

— Dillon Davis (@DillonDavis56) October 3, 2026

I found myself watching this game in the first half still concerned about the Ohio State defense and the number of yards it was giving up on sustained drives. As the game wore on, though, the play got much better. In fact, the Buckeyes gave up just 238 total yards, just 6.2 yards per pass, and only 1.9 yards per rush — all against a team that has done much better in those areas to date.

Head coach Ryan Day would, of course, tell you he’s not happy about the fourth-quarter touchdown Iowa scored, but all in all, it was a step forward for the Ohio State defense. Now, that has to be consistent going forward, but you like to see this type of performance against a physical team like Iowa.

THE greatest to ever do it. Crown him in every category.

Jeremiah Smith holds the triple crown for Zone 6. pic.twitter.com/Qp7gGR3IKX

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 3, 2026

The Ohio State superstar receiver now holds all three major receiving records for the program, and we’re only five games into his junior campaign. It’s easy to argue that Smith is the best Buckeye receiver of all time at this point with what we see week-to-week and the stats, but I’m not afraid to go further than that.

At least on the college level, the Miami, FL native is the best I’ve ever seen at the position. He’s got all the God-given ability, but he’s worked hard to polish it with great route running and technical ability to go with all that size, strength, and speed. We’ll see where he ends his career stat-wise when he’s stacked up against some of the great ones in college, but it might be a long, long time before we see another like him, and as long as he stays healthy, I don’t see how he doesn’t win the Heisman.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 5 things we learned from the Ohio State victory over Iowa Saturday