What Ohio State's dominance in Iowa at the line of scrimmage means for its championship hopes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ball was at Iowa's own 7-yard line after an Ohio State punt and everyone knew what the Hawkeyes were going to do late in the first half.

Let the ball run.

Iowa ran 27 times in Saturday's 35-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State, and in that moment it did what everyone expected. On the first down, Jaziun Patterson found linebacker Sonny Styles in the backfield, who shot the gap perfectly. On second down, Cody Simon made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. Iowa threw a pass into the flat on third down and fumbled on fourth down. It's a sequence that expresses the evolving identity of this Ohio State football team.

For years, Ryan Day's program has been labeled “soft” for failing to win its biggest games in the trenches. Three straight losses to Michigan, a loss to Georgia and even last year's loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl showed Ohio State's inability to stay ahead on one side of the ball or the other.

But Ohio State made plays when it needed to against Iowa, a physical team and the best opponent the Buckeyes have played to date. They held Iowa to just 116 rushing yards and star running back Kaleb Johnson to 86 yards, a decline from his 171 yards per game average.

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Ohio State also dominated along the offensive line. The Buckeyes ran for 203 yards, becoming the first Iowa team to rush for more than 100 yards, and averaged 5.1 yards per carry, well above the Iowa average of 2.4 yards. All told, Ohio State had nine tackles for loss and Iowa had two.

It was impressive. It was dominant. That was the answer every Ohio State fan wanted after having questions about the offensive and defensive fronts all season. Ohio State can win games at the line of scrimmage, and that will bode well for the Buckeyes' future – starting next Saturday night at Oregon.

“I think we showed some toughness today. The guys were physical up front on both sides of the ball,” Styles said. “But you have to get better every week. This game is over. It’s a new week.”

Ryan Day challenged his team to victory in the trenches. Let the ball run and stop the run, it's very simple. That's what every team wants to accomplish, but against a team like Iowa, that's easier said than done.

The Hawkeyes have been known for their run defense for years. They have finished in the top 15 in the country every season since 2018. Even when Ohio State beat the Hawkeyes 54-10 in 2022, it averaged just 2.2 yards per carry.

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The Hawkeyes run a two-gap defense scheme, meaning the defensive tackles are tasked with grabbing the offensive guards and moving them to one of the primary or secondary gaps to allow the linebackers free runs at the running back. This can be difficult to prepare for, especially considering Iowa's talent and preparation.

But it wasn't a problem for Ohio State on Saturday.

New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is one of the reasons Ohio State is so good up front. He is known for getting the most out of his running backs and offensive linemen. Kelly, who was the head coach at UCLA for six years before joining the Ohio State staff, finished in the top 20 in rushing in each of his final four years with the Bruins. Look around the program and people will tell you that the way Kelly handles his personnel on a weekly basis helps the Buckeyes.

The loans should also be distributed. Offensive line coach Justin Frye has been heavily criticized by Ohio State's fan base in recent years for his failure to recruit players and mixed results on the field. This preseason, the Buckeyes were hit with a nightmare scenario when an illness struck the entire offensive line during camp, forcing them to move second- and third-team players into starters. Frye has pushed his unit forward, and that time has helped build depth – although the development at the top of the depth chart has also been noticeable.

Tackles Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar were a liability last year, but they have shown their athletic ability this season. Guard Donovan Jackson was worthy of his preseason All-American selection, while newcomers at right guard Austin Siereveld and Tegra Tshabola fit together well.

Add Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin under center and Ohio State has a line you can trust.

“For the most part, everyone has a lot of playing experience,” Jackson said, “and for the guys who don’t have that, we knew they were very talented and would come along.”

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The question for the offensive line after a month wasn't whether they could block or move in space. It was about whether it could overwhelm people. And that happened on Saturday.

“These guys are playing their asses off,” quarterback Will Howard said. “We say we want our offensive line to get two and our defenses to get two every game, but I think our line gets four and our defenses can get over 60.”

This energy transfers to the defensive side. When the offensive line leaves the field, some of the first people they find are the defensive linemen.

“They know what we're capable of, and when we put it on the field, they say, 'Look, you've got to do this,'” Jackson said.

The cliché “iron sharpens iron” is on everyone’s lips at Ohio State when it comes to wide receiver and secondary receiver, two of the best positions on the roster. Now the same thing can be said at the line of scrimmage.

The improvement of Ohio State's offensive line is due in part to its defensive line. The talent is obvious as defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer will be NFL draft picks next year, along with defensive tackles Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton.

Since the offseason, this Ohio State University team has been dealing with another theme: toughness. They want to be the strongest and most skilled team in the country and Saturday's performance confirmed that.

Ohio State isn't perfect. It turns the ball over too often, five in five games, and it can struggle against quarterback runs and sometimes get off to slow starts on offense. There's a lot to sort out before next week's likely top-five matchup in Oregon, and they know it.

But after Saturday, there's one more thing we know about Ohio State: It can win games up front.

When the defense was on the field, Styles could hear a voice that didn't belong to either coach. It was running back Quinshon Judkins running up and down the sideline yelling, “Hit them in the face.” Keep hitting them in the face.”

Ohio State won on Saturday because it never stopped hitting Iowa. And that alone is a strong statement for Oregon.

(Top photo by Tyleik Williams: Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)