Recap: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State race past Iowa to give Hawkeyes their first loss
Iowa took its first loss of the 2026 season Saturday against Ohio State.
Iowa vs. Ohio State football: Score updates, highlights, stats and more
Here’s how it happened.
WATCH: Highlights from Iowa vs. Ohio State
Final: Ohio State 31, Iowa 14
Iowa showed life for a good chunk of the first half, but Ohio State was never really in danger. The Buckeyes led for the final 58:18 and coasted across the finish line.
Jeremiah Smith, as expected, was the star for Ohio State with 206 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.
Total yards of offense: 484-238 in favor of Ohio State.
2-minute timeout
Ohio State picks up a fourth-and-1 inside Iowa’s 20, and that should about do it. Iowa can stop the game with timeouts, but with a 17-point deficit, this is all but done.
Iowa scores to cut into lead
Probably too little, too late, but a promising drive for the Hawkeye offense after 2.5 quarters of frustration.
Hecklinski went 5-for-5 for 67 yards on that series. Braeden Jackson capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
It’s 31-14 after a successful 2-point conversion. There’s 9:30 to play.
Iowa scoring drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:17
Jeremy Hecklinski in at QB for Iowa
Time for a quarterback change.
Hank Brown checks out after going 12-for-27 for 132 yards and an interception.
Ohio State tacks on another score
It’s 31-6 Ohio State after a methodical drive down the field. The Buckeyes hit one big pass for 34 yards, but the rest of the series was steady runs and short passes. It was capped off by Ja’Kobi Jackson’s 7-yard touchdown run.
There’s 12:47 to play.
Ohio State scoring drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 5:05
End of third quarter: Ohio State 24, Iowa 6
Iowa has 15 minutes to pull off a miracle. The Hawkeyes have been outgained 378-161 so far and haven’t scored since the first quarter.
Hank Brown picked off
This could get ugly.
Brown fired downfield on first down, and it was picked off by Jaylen McClain. Ohio State has possession at its own 30 following the pick.
Jeremiah Smith scores long touchdown to extend the lead
Ohio State got close to midfield and took its shot, and it paid off. Sayin went deep down the middle to Jeremiah Smith, who hauled it in and jogged into the end zone for a 57-yard score.
It’s 24-6 after that big play. Smith is up to 180 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Ohio State scoring drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:46
Iowa forced to punt after three straight incompletions
Incompletion, incompletion, incompletion. Iowa will send it back to Ohio State after a bad series.
Hawkeye defense comes up big on fourth down
Ohio State went with the wildcat formation on fourth-and-1 from Iowa territory, and the Hawkeye defense was ready. Jayden Montgomery and Kahmari Brown ganged up on Bo Jackson in the backfield for a big stop and a turnover on downs.
Iowa takes over at its own 43 following the big stop. It’s still 17-6.
Hawkeye offense goes three-and-out
The Hawkeyes will punt after three plays, and they might count themselves lucky — Hank Brown’s third-down pass was nearly picked off deep in Iowa territory.
Instead, it’ll be Ohio State ball at the Buckeyes’ 39-yard line following a punt.
Ohio State forced to punt on opening drive
Iowa’s defense does its job, but a good punt by Ohio State’s Joe McGuire will pin Iowa’s offense at its own 19 for its first series of the second half.
Halftime: Ohio State 17, Iowa 6
Iowa largely kept pace with Ohio State for about 25 minutes of that half, but it was bookended by a very bad start and a poor finish that resulted in 14 points.
Ohio State takes an 11-point lead into the locker room and will receive the kickoff to open the second half.
Buckeyes score on 2-minute drill
A near-perfect drive for Ohio State ends in points right before the halftime break.
Jeremiah Smith got open right in front of the pylon and reached over the line as he was being tackled. It’s 17-6 Ohio State with 12 seconds to go at halftime.
Ohio State scoring drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 1:36
Hawkeyes forced to punt
Ohio State will have just under 2:00 and 2 timeouts with which to work before halftime.
2-minute timeout
Iowa has third-and-12 from its own 42 after the break.
Ohio State forced to punt after big sack
Kahmari Brown drilled Julian Sayin on a second-down drop back, forcing third-and-long. A long throw to Smith fell short, forcing a punt.
Iowa takes over at its own 24 following a short 31-yard punt. It’s still 10-6 Ohio State with 4:52 to play in the half.
Iowa elects to punt from midfield
Iowa had fourth-and-4 at the Ohio State 47 and lined up to go for it, but the Hawkeyes took an intentional delay of game and punted.
A perfect punt by Boston Everitt was touched sown at the 3-yard line, so Ohio State will have to go nearly the length of the field on this next drive.
Hawkins misses field goal after big Jeremiah Smith gain
Doink! Hawkins’ kick bounced off the left upright from 40 yards out, so it’ll remain 10-6 Ohio State.
That’s a big win for Iowa’s defense after it gave up a 54-yard gain to Jeremiah Smith on the first play of the drive.
End of first quarter: Ohio State 10, Iowa 6
A big third-down conversion got Iowa into field goal range, but Brown was sacked on third down to end the drive. Buhr’s 48-yard field goal split the uprights, and it’s 10-6 Ohio State after the kick.
That also ends the first quarter. Time for the wave!
Iowa scoring drive: 10 plays, 40 yards, 4:17
Ohio State answers with field goal drive
A mix of small gains moved Ohio State down the field, but an untimely false start and an incomplete pass stalled the drive in Iowa’s red zone. Connor Hawkins drilled the 28-yard kick to make it 10-3 Ohio State.
Ohio State scoring drive: 10 plays, 50 yards, 5:44
Iowa gets on the board with early field goal
Make it 7-3 after a methodical drive by the Hawkeye offense. Caden Buhr knocked in a 43-yard kick on fourth-and-2 to end the drive.
Iowa scoring drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 3:17
Ohio State scores early
That didn’t take long.
Two plays after recovering the fumble, Ohio State connected on a touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Devin McCuin from 15 yards out.
It’s 7-0 Ohio State after less than 2 minutes.
Ohio State scoring drive: 2 plays, 14 yards, 0:55
Iowa starts with possession, fumbles
Iowa opens with the ball, and its first series didn’t go according to plan.
Hank Brown was hit from behind and fumbled the ball, and Ohio State recovered it deep in Iowa territory.
The Buckeyes take over at the Iowa 14.
In the meantime, here’s what to know about Ohio State.
Iowa vs. Ohio State: How to watch and stream the game
- When: 2:30 p.m. CT, Saturday, Oct. 3
- Where: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City
- TV: CBS/KCCI
- Livestream: Paramount+ (subscription required)
Tickets for Iowa football vs. Ohio State
While tickets are already sold out, you can still get into the game via the secondary market. Iowa partners with SeatGeek for resale tickets. You can find tickets here.
Iowa vs. Ohio State football series history
History is not on Iowa’s side in this matchup.
The Buckeyes lead the series 48-15-3. It’s 10-2 in favor of Ohio State over Kirk Ferentz’s tenure leading the Iowa football program, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day is 2-0 against Iowa since he took over in 2019.
One silver lining for Iowa: 2017 is the last time the game was played at Kinnick Stadium, and the Hawkeyes won that matchup in a 55-24 shootout. Star Hawkeye tight ends Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson combined for 4 receiving touchdowns in that game, and QB Nate Stanley finished 20-for-31 for 226 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Last 10 games:
- 2024: Ohio State 35, Iowa 7
- 2022: Ohio State 54, Iowa 10
- 2017: Iowa 55, Ohio State 24
- 2013: Ohio State 34, Iowa 24
- 2010: Ohio State 20, Iowa 17
- 2009: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24
- 2006: Ohio State 38, Iowa 17
- 2005: Ohio State 31, Iowa 6
- 2004: Iowa 33, Ohio State 7
- 2003: Ohio State 19, Iowa 10
What to know about Ohio State football
The Buckeyes enter Saturday’s game ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 and sporting a 3-1 record. Ohio State’s lone loss came in Week 2 on the road at now No. 1 Texas, 24-23, after the Buckeyes led 23-3 entering the fourth quarter.
Ohio State opened Big Ten play last week with a 42-19 win over Illinois.
There’s no secret about the Ohio State offense. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is making his Heisman case already, tallying 617 receiving yard and 7 receiving touchdowns through four games (both of which lead all FBS players). He is chasing his third consecutive season with at least 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Last week, he posted 12 catches for 217 yards and 4 touchdowns against Illinois.
Smith amassed 4 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown in 2024 against the Hawkeyes.
Defensively, Ohio State is about as good as anyone in the country. Its defense has only surrendered two touchdowns through the air and has held teams to 3.5 yards per carry on the ground.
Big College Kickoff: Can Iowa defense stop Ohio State star receiver Jeremiah Smith?
ESPN’s College GameDay in Iowa City
This will be the third time GameDay has come to Iowa City. All three occasions have been ahead of matchups between Iowa and Ohio State.
Ohio State won the first two GameDay games in 1996 (38-26) and in 2006 (38-17).
You can see a list of all College GameDay games here.
ESPN says it will release more details about its Friday broadcasts from campus later this week. College GameDay airs Saturday at 8 a.m. CST on ESPN, ESPNU, the ESPN App and Disney+.
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Nate Stanley revisits 55-24
No. 5 Ohio State is favored by 14.5 points Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Make no mistake, it would be a big upset, but we’ve seen it happen before. The last time a top-5 Ohio State team came to town, Iowa blasted the third-ranked Buckeyes.
Iowa’s quarterback that day was Nate Stanley. Nate is now living in Minneapolis. He’s married with two kids and working as a pilot. He calls Nov. 4, 2017 his favorite game as a Hawkeye. The atmosphere was unmatched. Iowa knew very well how good the Buckeyes were. Was Iowa intimidated?
“Maybe a little bit, deep down, but at the end of the day, we’re all competitors. We’re all there for a reason. You know, so any feelings that, that you might have of that go away the second that ball’s kicked. Then, Amani (Hooker) started it off right from the jump with his pick six.”
Big College Kickoff: How does Iowa stack up against Ohio State?
Highlights: Iowa wins classic at Michigan
Stream “Big College Kickoff” Saturday morning before the game
You can watch KCCI’s “Big College Kickoff” live on at 10:30 a.m. every Saturday this fall.
KCCI Sports’ Cullen Holt will host, with Scott Reister and Shannon Ehrhardt live from the biggest games each week.
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Send in your questions, get featured on KCCI’s “Big College Kickoff”
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