Ohio State vs Iowa Report Card: Jeremiah Smith has earned a permanent A+

The No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1, 2-0) took down the No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1) 31-14 on Saturday afternoon in the raucous Kinnick Stadium. Here are some players and things that graded well and some that didn’t.

PSA: I keep saying I don’t want to put Jeremiah Smith on this list every week because it is low-hanging fruit and I want to give other guys some recognition, but he keeps doing it every week, so I am going to do something never before done. He gets the permanent A+. He catches 12 balls for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns: A+. He tweaks a hammy in practice and doesn’t play: A+. It doesn’t matter, he’s earned it.

This week, he had 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns and became the OSU all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and 100-plus-yard receiving games: A+… forever!

Sayin is also someone I want to stop putting in this, but today was one of his best games of the season and probably of his career. It is hard to be perfect, but he almost was. He was 20-for-27 for 324 yards and three touchdowns against a very good defense. He also ran the ball more than he usually does to get a couple of yards and help the yardage. He finished with nine carries for -1 yard, but that includes four sacks. A couple of the passes he threw to Smith and McCuin showed off the elite-level accuracy he has.

This has been the Jeremiah Smith season when it comes to receiving, but McCuin had a solid day. He finished with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Smith will carry the passing attack, but if McCuin can be a reliable WR2, it will go a long way.

A big talking point after the Illinois game was the run defense and its issues. However, we have seen good points this season, particularly at Texas. And it was good against Iowa. The Hawkeyes came into this game with a great rushing attack, but only had 39 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. That’s 1.8 yards per carry. Locked down.

When playing Iowa, no one really expects to be able to run the ball that well. However, the Buckeyes ran for 160 yards on 47 carries and a touchdown. There were times when both Jackson’s looked solid. Ja’Kobi Jackson ran for 72 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, and Bo Jackson ran for 70 yards on 16 carries. The running game is not very explosive, but as a unit it can be good enough to help the passing game excel and carry the offense.

There are some teams in college football that are incredibly hard to beat if they don’t beat themselves, and Ohio State is one of them. And to be clear, nine penalties for 49 yards isn’t beating themselves, but it isn’t great. The Buckeyes had four false start penalties in the first quarter, two from Gabe VanSickle and one on a kickoff. Those are the things that championship teams won’t do, and against better teams could be costly.

At this point, I also want to stop putting special teams on here, but they are still a problem. Another missed field goal, another mishap on punt returns costing field position, and more 30-yard punts. If you are punting from midfield, you have to be able to at least put the opposing team inside the 20-yard line.