Ohio State's first big road test is coming up this Saturday as the Buckeyes travel to Iowa City for a top-15 matchup at Kinnick Stadium. Let's preview the game with some stats and historical facts.
Tale of the tape - Ohio State offense vs Iowa defense
2026 (national rank) | Ohio State | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
Points per game | 45.0 (6) | 8.0 (1) |
Yards per game | 522.0 (8) | 239.8 (10) |
Yards per play | 7.8 (6) | 4.1 (10) |
Rushing yards/attempt | 4.6 (62) | 2.7 (16) |
Passing yards/attempt | 11.0 (2) | 5.8 (20) |
Red zone efficiency | 76.2% (26) | 28.6 (3) |
Turnovers per game | 1.0 (47) | 1.25 (64) |
Tale of the tape - Iowa offense vs Ohio State defense
2026 (national rank) | Ohio State | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
Points per game | 12.3 (11) | 32.8 (58) |
Yards per game | 274.3 (27) | 439.0 (48) |
Yards per play | 4.2 (13) | 6.6 (37) |
Rushing yards/attempt | 3.5 (54) | 6.5 (5) |
Passing yards/attempt | 4.8 (3) | 6.7 (111) |
Red zone efficiency | 42.9% (15) | 69.2% (55) |
Turnovers per game | 1.5 (37) | .25 (5) |
Series history
This will be the 68th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Iowa. The Buckeyes lead the series 49-15-3. Ohio State has won the last two matchups, but Iowa won the last time these two met at Kinnick Stadium in 2017. This is the 27th time these two teams have met in Iowa City.
The Buckeyes are 17-7-2. This is the 22nd time they've met as ranked teams, and the 14th time they've met as top-15 teams. Ranked Ohio State is 17-4 against ranked Iowa, and top-15 Ohio State is 9-4 against top-15 Iowa.
The last time they met as top-15 opponents was in 2009, when No. 10 Ohio State defeated No. 15 Iowa 27-24 at Ohio Stadium. That was the last time Iowa has come into the game against Ohio State with a better record than the Buckeyes. The last top-15 matchup at Kinnick Stadium was in 2006, when No. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 13 Iowa 38-17.
Big Ten play
Both Ohio State and Iowa won their Big Ten opener last week. The Buckeyes are looking to improve to 2-0 in conference play for the 15th year in a row. They are also looking to start the season 4-1 or better for the 15th year in a row. The Hawkeyes have not started 2-0 in conference play since 2021. That is also the last time the Hawkeyes started a season 5-0, which they look to do on Saturday.
Under Ryan Day, Ohio State is 25-11 against ranked teams, 21-11 against teams ranked in the top 15. They have lost three games in a row against top-15 teams, dating back to a 2025 win at No. 15 Michigan. Ohio State is 4-4 in top-15 road games under Ryan Day. Over that same time period, Iowa is 7-16 against ranked teams, 1-5 against teams ranked in the top 5. They have lost 5 games in a row against top-5 teams, dating back to a 2021 win over No. 4 Penn State.
Ryan Day is 2-0 as a head coach against Kirk Ferentz and Iowa. He also beat Iowa in the 2005 Outback Bowl as a graduate assistant at Florida. Kirk Ferentz is 2-10 against Ohio State as head coach of the Hawkeyes.
Ohio State is 49-15-3 against current FBS teams from the state of Iowa. All of those games are against the Hawkeyes; they have never played Iowa State. Iowa is 25-49-3 against current FBS teams from the state of Ohio. They are 10-0 against teams from the Buckeye State other than OSU.
ESPN's College Gameday will be broadcasting from Iowa's campus on Saturday morning. This will be the third time Iowa has hosted Gameday, the first since 2006. Each of the first two Gameday appearances at Iowa has been for games against Ohio State, and both were Buckeye victories. In total, Iowa is 3-6 when they are involved in College Gameday. Ohio State is involved in College Gameday for the 71st time, the most of any school. They are 48-22 in those games.
Saturday's game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. Since the Big Ten's deal with CBS began in 2023, Ohio State is 5-0 in that time window. Iowa is 2-3 in that window. These teams faced off on CBS in 2024, which was a 35-7 Buckeye victory at Ohio Stadium.
Odds, similar games, and prediction
Ohio State is a 14.5-point favorite on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Some recent games where Ohio State was a big favorite against a ranked team on the road: In 2025, Ohio State beat Illinois 34-16 as a 14.5-point favorite. In 2022, Ohio State beat Penn State 44-31 as a 15.5-point favorite. In 2020, Ohio State beat Penn State 38-25 as a 10.5-point favorite.
This is a true test for the 2026 Ohio State football team. I could truly see a scenario where the Buckeyes suffer their second loss, and not just in the sense that they could fall for a trap game or not come out focused. Ohio State gave up nearly 200 total yards rushing against Illinois last week, and the Hawkeyes are 5th in the country in yards per carry. Iowa is going to try to control the ball and keep Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith off the field.
Iowa knows how to play its own game. Ohio State has had an issue with getting away from what they are good at in big games in the recent past. Teams have a tendency to go into Kinnick Stadium and get sucked into playing Iowa ball. If Ohio State can avoid that, they could cover that two-touchdown spread. If Ohio State loses this game, it would be a unique loss in Ryan Day's tenure. He's only lost against other national title contenders and Michigan.
They don't lose games against second-tier teams like Iowa. The Hawkeyes are a good team and a real playoff contender with some matchup advantages, but Ohio State's talent will overcome. The Buckeye defense bends but doesn't break, and the offense makes enough big plays to pull out a 21-16 win.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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