Ohio State football vs. Iowa: Defensive grades

The Ohio State football team took on Iowa on Saturday in a game that they were greatly favored to win. They covered the spread by winning 54-10 in a score that didn’t get out of hand until the second half. It got out of hand that way because of the defense. Here are the grades for each unit.

One of the biggest surprises of this game was the play of Zach Harrison. Harrison may have had his best game in an Ohio State uniform. He had two tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and two tackles for loss. He was disruptive on the most important down too, which is third down.

Ohio State only allowed 77 yards rushing on 35 carries. They didn’t allow Iowa to control the clock like they wanted to, which was key to making sure that the Hawkeyes couldn’t pull the upset. A couple of other unlikely Buckeyes had great games too.

Jerron Cage had five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks. He shared that sack with Caden Curry, who also had a nice tackle on a fake punt. Both guys have been standouts in practice and earned the playing time that they saw on Saturday afternoon. Taron Vincent also recovered a fumble.

It was another stellar performance for the linebackers. They have proven to be the best unit on this defense after being a major question mark last season. Tommy Eichenberg had another big game, recording seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pick-six.

Steele Chambers had four tackles while Cody Simon had six, including two tackles for loss and a sack. The unit as a whole did well in defending both the run and the pass, although they were helped by Iowa’s sheer offensive incompetence.

The Ohio State football team has struggled with the pass in some games, mainly because of poor cornerback coverage. There were no such issues against the Hawkeyes. Ohio State was able to hold Iowa to just 81 yards passing. It all started after Tanner McCalister got a pick on the very first play of the game.

McCalister ended up with two interceptions, picking one up late on Iowa’s backup quarterback as well. While it was a good defensive performance from the defensive backs, I don’t want to get too carried away. Iowa’s offense is the worst in the country for a reason.

It was a great day for the defense, but take it with a grain of salt. The level of competition will step up significantly next week when the Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley.