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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Disappointment with the Iowa football program will drop to a 10 out of 10 in this one.

As 19-point underdogs, a loss to third-place Ohio State was expected. But appearing vastly outnumbered in the national spotlight once again has become a record-breaking event.

The Hawkeyes couldn't get star running back Kaleb Johnson going. When they attempted a field goal, they missed. When they had two turnovers in the first half, they failed to cash in. When they sent nice punts toward the goal line, the coverage team couldn't capitalize. When the head coach was faced with an important decision, he became too conservative.

And when these moves, big and small, ultimately go wrong against an elite team, the avalanche is inevitable.

Ohio State is a really good team. The Buckeyes proved that in a decisive third quarter that opened the door to a 35-7 victory in front of 105,135 fans at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

Iowa is a good team right now, but far from reaching the level needed to be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. This stunning loss, combined with the earlier home disappointment against Iowa State, leaves the Hawkeyes with a 3-2 record, well short of the playoff dreams of 12 teams they had before the season.

The upcoming schedule is certainly manageable and Iowa has the potential to go 7-0 the remainder of the regular season. But Saturday was a stark reminder that even if Iowa reached a postseason game on the big stage, it still isn't ready for prime time.

The Hawkeyes came into the halftime locker room trailing just 0-7. That was a remarkable achievement and a bitter disappointment at the same time.

Sticking around for 60 minutes would have been something to build on, not someone wearing a Hawkeye helmet coming here to claim a moral victory. Getting kicked out here has to be a bit of a discouragement not just for these players, but for all the hopeful Hawkeye fans out there.

Even if Iowa rattles off seven straight wins, starting Saturday at home against Washington (11 a.m. CT), that end result will be a devastating result.

This can be added to Iowa's disappointing results against ranked teams: 54-10 at Ohio State in 2022; 31-0 vs. Penn State, 26-0 vs. Michigan and 35-0 vs. Tennessee in 2023; and now this.

What needs to be changed? Certainly quarterback play continues to be a problem. Cade McNamara, after a decent first half against the team he beat at Michigan in 2021, committed three turnovers in the second half, including a lost sack fumble on Iowa's first snap of the third quarter. McNamara had an early chance on Iowa's first drive to hit an open Kaden Wetjen with a deep ball, but it wobbled poorly and incomplete.

McNamara finished the game 14-for-20 for 98 yards with an ugly interception and two fumbles and was replaced by Brendan Sullivan with 10:58 left. Until Iowa seriously expands the quarterback position, it will have to continue trying to win games with special teams and special defense. But Saturday's problems went far beyond one player.

The offensive line took a step back Saturday, generating very little for Big Ten leader Kaleb Johnson until the game was out of reach. The junior had nine carries for 17 yards before a 28-yard rush to leave Iowa trailing 21-0. With 8:07 left in the game, Johnson hit the end zone on a 28-yard run with Iowa trailing 35-0. It was Iowa's first offensive touchdown against a ranked team since a 27-14 loss to Michigan in 2022 over 20 quarters.

Johnson, who averaged 171.3 yards per game, finished with 15 carries for 86 yards.

The defense, aside from perhaps three great individual plays from Yahya Black (on a four-and-2 stop), Jay Higgins (on a forced fumble) and Sebastian Castro (on an interception late in the second quarter), wasn't up to par The task of slowing down a serious crime in the US state of Ohio was high. Emeka Egbuka had three touchdown catches – one in the first quarter, one in the third and one in the fourth – and Jeremiah Smith added a magical one-handed TD grab from Will Howard, who also scored the first rushing touchdown Iowa scored all season has allowed.

And as mentioned, the special teams were average at best. Drew Stevens had to make a 51-yard field goal with the score 7-0 in the second quarter, but the ball went wide of the left net. Rhys Dakin had a punt that rolled to the end zone and hit coverage man Zach Lutmer at the 12; and had another one rolling into the end zone that should have been collected inside the 5.

All in all, a frustrating and disappointing day for the Black and Gold.

A highly questionable punt decision by Kirk Ferentz

The Iowa head coach, who has played at Ohio Stadium for 26 years, added more to his list of tentative decisions at Ohio Stadium that required immediate thought.

Of course, Hawkeye fans still remember his decision 15 years ago to pounce on the ball from his own 33-yard line with 52 seconds to play in a 24-24 game. That decision to take overtime without attempting to win left Ferentz with a 27-24 loss that gave the Buckeyes the 2009 Big Ten title.

On Saturday, with his team on fourth down and less than three feet from midfield, Ferentz twice decided to send his punt team onto the field. Both decisions were regrettable, but the second was overturned.

Before we get into what happened, isn't this exactly the type of situation that makes Iowa's decision to make Brendan Sullivan its quarterback an advantage? The Hawkeyes have plenty of short-yardage plays to exploit, with Sullivan being a more mobile quarterback than McNamara (as he showed with a 30-yard scramble in fourth-quarter garbage time).

Anyway, Iowa sent out the punt team trailing 7-0 with 7:32 left in the second quarter and had a fake call. Great idea in this situation. Upback Hayden Large grabbed the immediate snap and, with all 22 players at full throttle, rushed forward for a 2-yard gain and a first down. Except while those players were playing their game, whistles were blowing because Ferentz had called a timeout. Maybe special teams coordinator LeVar Woods told him he didn't like the look. Maybe Ferentz had a bad feeling. These were questions that should be answered in the press conference after the game.

But after the timeout, Ferentz still chose to punt rather than use a Sullivan package or try to play aggressively on offense. And Dakin fired the kick 22 yards and out of bounds at Ohio State's 28. On the very next play, Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins rushed 21 yards to bring the ball within 24 inches of where Iowa stumbled from. That seemed to immediately confirm that this was a bad decision by Iowa's head coach.

But on the next play a screen pass to Smith opened up the decisive advantage. Higgins released the ball at the Iowa 33, and Higgins rose from the ground and dove into a pileup to recover the fumble at the Iowa 28. An incredible effort from the All-American to ensure that Ferentz's punt decision didn't become obviously costly.

My thought before the decision was the same after the Higgins turnover: You are here to win the game. To win the game you need points. They have a rushing offense that averages 250 yards per game and has a short-yardage package. Get 24 inches and make a statement with a first down. Although the Ferentz timeout got more attention, the biggest disappointment for me was that I didn't get into the game the first time.

The Iowa defense's 400-yard streak comes to an end

Entering Saturday, the Hawkeyes had played 32 games over 34 months without an opponent reaching 400 yards of total offense, the longest active streak in the country. That would be put to the test against the Buckeyes, who averaged 534.8 yards per game and reached more than 400 yards in 57 of 68 games with Ryan Day as head coach.

On Saturday the 400 mark was finally broken in the final minutes. The Buckeyes finished the day with 412 yards rushing, an average of 6.3 per play. By the way, Iowa finished the game with a season-low 226 yards of offense.

The last time an Iowa opponent topped 400 yards was in the 2021 Big Ten title game, when Michigan rushed for 461 yards in a 42-3 win. Interestingly, Ohio State “only” had 360 yards in a 54-10 win over Iowa in 2022. Penn State had 397 yards in a 31-0 white out win over Iowa last year and Tennessee had 383 fadeouts in a 35-0 win over Iowa in the current Citrus Bowl.

How was the day for Luke Lachey?

It started with hugs from his Columbus-based family members as the Hawkeyes tight end got off the bus. At Ohio Stadium, Lachey was able to briefly chat with his father, Ohio State broadcaster Jim Lachey, on the sidelines.

The “Lacheygate” hopped outside the stadium early Saturday morning and mother Ann, brother James and sisters Paige, Emily and Ali were thrilled to see the youngest of five Lacheys play at the Horseshoe one last time. They felt Luke was a lot less nervous than he was on the trip here in 2022, where he had one catch for six yards.

Once again, Lachey wasn't a key part of Iowa's offense from the start. It was surprising how little the Hawkeyes targeted him this year, even though the 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior is definitely the best receiver on the team and a future NFL draft pick. Lachey came into the game with 12 catches for 97 yards in four games.

On Saturday, he finished the game with five receptions for 39 yards, a team-high. But there was one piece that Lachey fans, especially those in his family, will appreciate. On a third-and-8 in the third quarter with Iowa trailing 21-0, Lachey caught a save pass in the flat. He could have been tackled just before the first attack, but a hard second attempt allowed him to lunge forward for a 9-yard gain.

One play later, Kaleb Johnson ran for 28 yards. Lachey then caught a pass for 13 yards. Then McNamara was intercepted on the left sideline. A fitting way to halt the positive momentum on a very negative day for the Hawkeyes.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has worked for The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network for 30 years. Chad is the 2023 INA Sports Columnist of the Year in Iowa and NSMA Co-Sports Writer of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad's SMS group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.

On By John Fenwick

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