Ohio State football vs. Iowa: Three keys to victory

The Ohio State football team is taking on an Iowa team that is struggling to move the ball up and down the field right now. They have the worst offense in the entire country. Yet, their defense is very strong and is third in the nation in terms of points per game allowed.

That gives the Buckeyes a unique challenge on how to tackle their opponent this week. They haven’t seen a team yet this year with such a strange mix of offense and defense. I’m actually really interested to see how this offense deals with such a good defense.

There are three keys to victory for the Buckeyes that I’ve identified. While winning this game shouldn’t be a huge problem, we also thought that back in 2017 when the Buckeyes went to Iowa City just a week after coming back to beat Penn State. We all remember what happened next.

The first thing that the Buckeyes need to do is just do what they already do on offense; pour it on.

1. Ohio State football team must keep executing on offense

This Ohio State offense is elite. In my mind, they are the best offense in the entire country. They have a multitude of weapons that they can beat you with on the ground and through the air. They’ve also put up insane numbers without their best player being on the field.

That player sounds like he will finally be able to play on Saturday. How the Buckeyes integrate Jaxon Smith-Njigba back into the fold will be very interesting to see. It’s important that C.J. Stroud doesn’t try to force him the ball. He needs to just find the open man, whoever it may be.

I think Smith-Njigba will have a decent game, but not a great one. His timing is still going to be off from having been off the field for so long. It’s also not a guarantee that he plays. Ryan Day has said he’d be back before, only to see him sitting on the sidelines. I’ll believe it when I see it.

As long as the Buckeyes keep doing what they are doing, they still shouldn’t have any issues moving the ball against a stingy Iowa defense. I don’t think there’s anything the Hawkeyes can do to stop this offense. It might take longer than usual for the Buckeyes to score 50 points, but I think they’ll get there.

The second key for the Buckeyes to walk out with a win has to deal with their own defense.