Ten NFL teams represented at Ohio State vs Iowa Hawkeyes #GoBucks
There is no shortage of NFL talent on the Ohio State football roster and the same can be said for the defensively elite Iowa Hawkeyes roster. It is not uncommon for scouts from the National Football League to roam the sidelines of Ohio Stadium searching for the next C.J. Stroud, J.K. Dobbins, or Garrett Wilson, but today almost a third of the league has representation in Columbus, Ohio.
Another interesting aspect of the number of scouts showing up is that most teams have one representative, but today multiple teams have up to three scouts. NFL scouts rarely stay for the whole game and most of their work is completed during the pre-game as they are primarily on sight to judge movement ability and a player’s size and frame, but with the amount of scouts at the game, perhaps today will be handled a bit differently. The following is a list of all ten NFL teams represented at the Ohio State game:
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.
Ohio State football issues availability report for Iowa Hawkeyes #GoBucks
Ohio State football is set to kick off for its first home Big Ten contest of the 2024 season against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Columbus, Ohio at 3:30 p.m. Today is a big day for the Buckeyes as Iowa will be the first legitimate College Football Playoff-caliber opponent. Everyone is hoping that OSU will be 100% for the first time this season and we thought that maybe the case with head coach, Ryan Day mentioning Tyliek Williams’ return on the defensive line, but the newest released availability report says otherwise.
According to the report, wide receiver, Carnell Tate is questionable to see action today against Iowa. With the coaching staff showing a trend of better safe than sorry, it would be a safe assumption to prepare not to see Tate. Ohio State shouldn’t need Tate as it is expected to win by three touchdowns. The following is the availability report:
Questionable
WR Carnell Tate
Out
RB TC Caffey
RB Rashid SeSay
WR Reis Stocksdale
Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate is questionable for today’s game against Iowa according to multiple reports. pic.twitter.com/nKXKwv63Fw
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) October 5, 2024
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.
Day had plenty to say during his weekly Tuesday press conference ahead of the Iowa matchup. #GoBucks
Ohio State continues its season journey for 2024 when it comes back to the banks of the Olentangy to host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. Currently, the Buckeyes sit with a record of 4-0 but Iowa likely poses the toughest challenge to date with one of the best rushing attacks in the conference and a usual stout defense.
OSU head coach Ryan Day knows the challenge ahead of his team and met with reporters in Columbus for his usual press conference Tuesday to preview the matchup.
Day touched on the status of his team, reflecting on the win at Michigan State, and looked at what Iowa brings to Columbus. If you didn’t get a chance to watch and listen to all of Day’s comments, you can do so here thanks to the WBNS 10TV YouTube channel.
Ohio State and Iowa are all set to kick things off at 3:30 p.m. ET. You can stay with us before, during, and after for all the coverage you crave.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
It’s that time of the week again when the Ohio State football creative team drops the trailer for the weekend’s game. In this case, the Buckeyes are back home after dismantling Michigan State last Saturday to host 3-1 Iowa in the ‘Shoe.
The Buckeyes remain undefeated, and there’s a good chance this will be their stiffest test to date against a well coached Hawkeye team that will look to play ball possession and solid defense en route to an upset.
OSU is highly favored in the contest, but it can’t take anyone lightly, least of which an Iowa squad that’ll be out to make a statement on the season.
To commemorate the game, Ohio State social media accounts dropped the trailer for the contest against Iowa with former defensive back Mike Doss providing the narration alongside the gray uniforms the Buckeyes will be wearing.
If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, get a look and get yourself in game mode for Saturday afternoon.
Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. so set your DVRs, get your popcorn and beverages ready, and check back with Buckeyes Wire often before, during, and after the game for complete preview, reaction, and analysis.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Get to know this year’s Iowa team a little bit. #GoBucks
The Ohio State football team will continue its journey on what it hopes is one of those special and memorable seasons this weekend when it welcomes the Iowa Hawkeyes to town.
Iowa almost always travels with a defense, but over the last few years, the offense has been optional at home and for away games. That looks to have changed a wee-bit this season (it couldn’t get any worse), but the Hawkeyes still don’t have an offense to hit the “like” button on.
However, with four pretty easy games so far to date and four wins, there’s little doubt that this will be the stiffest challenge for Ohio State so far in the 2024 season. And since we are in Big Ten play now, we’re sure you know a little more about the teams appearing from here on out on the regular-season schedule, but we still like to provide you with five things about the opponent maybe you didn’t know.
As such, here are five things to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes as Ohio State continues to prep for the game Saturday afternoon.
Iowa has a quarterback that already has a win over Ohio State in the past
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Most ardent fans know this, but the casual fan may not. The current quarterback for Iowa is non other than than former Michigan signa-caller, Cade McNamara.
He was the quarterback for Michigan when the Wolverines got the 500-pound gorilla off its back with the win over the Buckeyes back in 2021 to stop an eight-game losing streak to OSU. He was, of course, supplanted the next year by J.J. McCarthy, but at least McNamara has that under his belt when he enters the fray of the Horseshoe on Saturday afternoon.
Iowa is actually playing a little offense in 2024
Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester runs drills with the offense during Kids Day at Kinnick Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. USA TODAY SMG
We all know Iowa was the punchline of many offensive (literally and figureatively) jokes over the last few season because of it inability to score points on that side of the ball. The Hawkeyes were one of the worst offensive ballclubs in all of college football over the last few years with Brian Ferentz pulling the strings as offensive coordinator.
It was so bad that head coach Kirk Ferentz fired his own son and made room for new offensive coordinator, Tim Lester, the former head coach of Western Michigan. So far, the move has paid off. Nobody is going to mistake the Iowa offense for one that’s a Lane Kiffin or Lincoln Riley coached squad, but things are markedly better.
In 2024, the Hawkeyes are averaging 32.0 points a game, good for a tie as the No. 55 ranked offense in the country. Getting things inside No. 100 is significant improvement for the program and it’s all mostly been done by No. 10 rushing attack in the country, led by running back, Kaleb Johnson.
The forward pass is still the equivalent of a four-letter word for Iowa
Sep 21, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes running back Kaleb Johnson (2) runs the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
But … don’t think the Hawkeyes are going to ask McNamara to sling the ball down the field — quite the opposite.
While the ground game has been hard to stop for opposing teams, Iowa still struggles with the concept of the forward pass, averaging just 147.5 yards per contest, good for a pedestrian ranking of No. 124 on the season so far. And when Iowa does pass, McNamara is completing just 62.7% of his passes for an average of 5.8 yards per completion.
Iowa’s offense is the very definition of a conservative, ball-control outfit and you can expect Ohio State to key in on the running game from the time the defense steps off the bus.
Perhaps even funnier for Ohio State fans — Iowa has more passing yards than Michigan does so far on the season despite playing one less game (590 to 577). Let that sink in.
The Iowa defense is still very good
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Despite the offensive “explosion” in Iowa City this year, the team hasn’t forgotten how to play defense.
Historically speaking the last several seasons, the Hawkeyes have been a program that makes you work your way down the field and will look to create turnovers while doing so. In 2024, Iowa is still a top fifteen defense and is only giving up 13.8 points per contest.
The turnovers and scoring from that side of the ball isn’t as eye-popping as it has been in the past, but Ohio State will have to most likely earn its way down the field and sustain long drives.
One of Iowa’s tight ends has some serious Scarlet and Gray in his blood
Aug 31, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Luke Lachey (85) looks for yards after catch against the Illinois State Redbirds during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa has long been know for its ability to produce some of the best tight ends in the country. This year, the Hawkeyes’ No. 1 tight end is none other than Luke Lachey, son of former Ohio State player and current radio voice, Jim Lachey.
He hasn’t had a ton of targets and touches so far this year, but don’t be surprised if the game plan involves the tight end a lot more against Ohio State as the Hawkeyes try to loosen up the running game by throwing more conservative passes to the tight end.
It must be a dream come true for the elder Lachey to call his son catching passes on the banks of the Olentangy. No offense dad, we aren’t rooting for your son to contribute to an Iowa win over the weekend.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
Iowa running back, Kaleb Johnson is a very good football player. Through four games he’s rushed for nearly 700 yards, is averaging over eight yards per carry, and already has nine touchdowns. But going into Ohio Stadium to face the No. 3 team in the land will be a different animal than what Johnson has seen before. And he may have just thrown gasoline on what will already be a raging fire for the Hawkeyes.
Johnson is an Ohio native hailing from Hamilton, Ohio. However, Ohio State never came calling when it was time to recruit. Maybe the Buckeyes should have given Johnson a look as Dallan Hayden was the only running back in that 2022 recruiting class, and he — of course — has since moved on to Colorado.
When asked if he ever wanted to go to OSU, Johnson’s response might raise some eyebrows saying “Even if they would’ve offered me, I wouldn’t have like went because I feel like I want to beat them.” Take a listen for yourself.
"I wanna beat the top dogs. I don't wanna be with them. I want to beat them". Kaleb Johnson says he never gave much of a thought to going to Ohio State, even though he grew up less than 2 hours from Columbus. pic.twitter.com/3vmnx3AhWN
Iowa gets their shot to show the nation what they can be with a road trip to Ohio State.
No one said that a bye week means you have to stay stagnant. That certainly does not apply to the Iowa Hawkeyes who had their bye week at what may prove to have come at a pivotal time this season.
Iowa, 3-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten, is coming off a bye week and is well-rested heading into its toughest test of the season: a road trip to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Iowa continued to climb as CBS believes in them with a four-spot jump up to No. 18.
We’re still high on Iowa, which gets a chance to solidify itself in the rankings with a trip to Ohio State this week (if the offense shows any life on the road). – Brandon Marcello, CBS Sports
The ranking makes sense. Iowa dropped one to Iowa State, who is No. 14 in the rankings, in a game they had total control of and should have won as the better team. Had Iowa won that, they would be knocking on the door of the top ten teams.
The Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten, sit at No. 3 in the rankings. They have not had a game closer than 31 points yet and have put up at least 38 points in every game.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Ohio State football break out the alternate uniforms for Iowa #GoBucks
Ohio State football will be breaking out the all-gray alternate uniforms for its Saturday game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. It is a tad odd that the Buckeyes won’t be breaking these bad boys out on prime time, but there is no doubt that these alternates are a fan favorite for many, and showcasing them in the first home Big Ten contest seems like a worthy scenario.
Last season, Ohio State wore the all-gray look against the Michigan State Spartans, earning a victory in style to the tune of 38-3. The Buckeyes have made many strides in the fashion department in the last few years including an all-black look that was worn against the Wisconsin Badgers in 2022, as well as the all-scarlet uniform seen during the 2021 contest against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Ohio State is expected to whip out the all-scarlet uniforms against the Nebraska Cornuskers later in the year, so this season will feature some fun combinations.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on X.
Here is a look at everything that happened in the Big Ten in Week 5 and the updated conference standings.
For the first time this season, we had a Big Ten football schedule that stretched from Friday night on the East Coast to the late night hours on the West Coast. While not every Big Ten team was in action this week, there was enough to keep us entertained with a trophy game in Michigan, an unofficial whiteout game in Happy Valley, and Oregon and UCLA giving us some Big Ten After Dark.
Here is a look at everything that went down around the Big Ten in Week 5, including a look at the updated Big Ten standings as we head into October.
Washignton played its first road game in the Big Ten and had to fly all the way across the country to New Jersey to do so. It was a long flight back after coming up short against the Scarlet Knights on Friday night.
Kyle Monangai rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown to help Rutgers hold off the Huskies, who dropped its second game of the season already. Washington had a chance to force overtime but a 55-yard field goal attempt by Grady Gross went wide left as time expired.
Washington outgained Rutgers 521-299, Washignton quarterback Will Rogers passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns and Jonah Coleman rushed for 148 yards. But the Huskies had three missed field goals and were just 2-for-12 on third-down attempts.
Next up for Washington: vs. Michigan
Next up for Rutgers: at Nebraska
This was a game about missed opportunities by Maryland. The Terrapins forced four Indiana turnovers but could not score any points off those free possessions. Indiana forced Maryland to punt three times following a turnover by the offense and Maryland was stopped on a turnover on downs following a fourth turnover. The Hoosiers offense more than made up for the rare miscues this season by racking up over 500 yards of offense led by 359 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
Indiana is off to its first 5-0 start since 1967 and the Hoosiers are already one win shy of bowl eligibility before even getting into October. Not a bad start for new head coach Curt Cignetti in Bloomington.
Next up for Maryland: vs. Northwestern (Week 7)
Next up for Indiana: at Northwestern
Michigan may have retained possession of the Little Brown Jug once again, but the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers made them work for it. Minnesota put together a furious fourth-quarter rally that ultimately fell short after closing the gap to a three-point margin with 1:37 remaining. Minnesota recovered an onside kick but was flagged for an offsides call on the attempt, and Michigan recovered the second onside kick attempt to put the game on ice.
Kalel Mullings led Michigan with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns, putting together his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Michigan. The Michigan defense held Minnesota to just 38 rushing yards as a team, and limited Darius Taylor to just 36 yards (Taylor did score two touchdowns and catch 10 passes for 52 receiving yards).
The Michigan passing game continues to lack much punch with Alex Orgi completing 10 of 18 passes for 86 yards, but the Wolverines appear comfortable working around their apparent shortcomings for now.
Next up for Minnesota: vs. USC
Next up for Michigan: at Washington
It took a while for anything to happen on the scoreboard in this one, but Nebraska did its part to make up for a slow start. After a scoreless first half by both teams, Nebraska put the first touchdown on the board in the third quarter to take a 7-3 lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns for a good road victory for the Cornhuskers.
Dylan Raiola passed for 244 yards and a touchdown but the Huskers were just 1-of-8 on third down conversion attempts. Nebraska’s defense did handle Purdue well by allowing just 224 yards of offense and holding the Boilermakers out of the end zone until the final minute and a half of regulation. It was a defensive touchdown, a 29-yard interception return by John Bullock, that helped put the game firmly out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Next up for Nebraska: vs. Rutgers
Next up for Purdue: at Wisconsin
USC quarterback Miller Moss passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns as USC shut down the visiting Wisconsin Badgers in the second half. USC trailed Wisconsin at halftime 21-10 but weren’t on a 28-0 run in the second half to run away for their first Big Ten conference victory in program history.
This was a bit of a sloppy game for much of the afternoon with five combined turnovers (USC with three, Wisconsin with two), and 14 penalties for over 100 yards of penalty yardage fairly evenly split between the two teams.
Next up for Wisconsin: vs. Purdue
Next up for USC: at Minnesota
Penn State and Illinois traded touchdown drives to start the game, but then the defenses for each took over. The Illini would not manage to score any more points in the game, so Penn State had to gain control with the running game to get the win. Fortunately for Penn State, the combination of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped grind out a win with 221 total yards of offense combined between the two, and some good work from tight end Tyler Warren out of the wildcat formations, the offense was too much to slow down for the Illini.
Penn State’s defense also forced a couple of turnovers and sacked Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer seven times. This was not an officially sanctioned whiteout game for Penn State, but the fans turned the night game into one anyway.
Next up for Illinois: vs. Purdue (Week 7)
Next up for Penn State: vs. UCLA
Ohio State’s first game away from home was not expected to be a massive challenge for the Buckeyes, and perhaps it wasn’t. The Buckeyes got off to a somewhat slow start with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter but put together three touchdowns in the second quarter and never had a reason to look back against Michigan State.
Will Howard passed for 244 yards, and the combo of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith combined for 12 catches and 179 receiving yards with a touchdown each. the defense locked in on the Spartans’ running game and held Nate Carter to just 27 yards on six carries.
Michigan State had their opportunities though. But Michigan State had three turnovers inside the red zone in the first half, suggesting a team can move on the Buckeyes but still has to find a way to finish. Micigan State was unable to do so and paid the price.
Next up for Ohio State: vs. Iowa
Next up for Michigan State: at Oregon
Orgeon wide receiver Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks enjoyed a big win at UCLA to wrap up the Big Ten schedule in Week 5. Dillon Gabriel completed 30-of-39 pass attempts for 268 yards and had three touchdowns, including the two to Johnson, and his one interception was returned for a touchdown by former Oregon player Bryan Addison.
After a shaky start to the season, it appears as though Oregon has found its groove and is beginning to live up to some of the preseason hype. They’ll return home next week for their first Big Ten game in Autzen Stadium. Meanwhile, UCLA will make its first cross-country trip in Big Ten play for an early kickoff next Saturday in Happy Valley.
Some say stocks go up and down. Kaleb Johnson’s stock continues to trend upwards like a bright red line on the graph. His season is off to a stellar start and has gone from conversation among Iowa Hawkeyes fans to a national topic of discussion.
Through four games, Johnson has emerged as Iowa’s top offensive threat with his ability to run through defenses each game this season. The new offense under Tim Lester has Johnson seeing his best year yet.
Among those taking notes is Pro Football Focus. Kaleb Johnson is one of their players with their stock trending up the most ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Yeah, it’s interesting when you say stacked boxes, because you’re right, but we also run different formations than most teams. We’re in a stacked formation if you can call it that. Our wide outs are involved now. They’re right there to handle a stacked box.”
“A lot of times you don’t see the spacing, which is kind of natural in our offense. Which does make the passing game a little bit more difficult. It actually makes it better once our guys figure it all out. There’s the same amount of space out there no matter how we line up. Lining up a little bit tighter does help our run game. It helps our receivers get involved in those stacked boxes and those corners are going to have to be ready to make some tackles because of some of the stuff our receivers have been able to do,” Lester said of Iowa running against stacked boxes.
Through four games, Kaleb Johnson has ran the ball 82 times for 683 yards, averaging an 8.4 yards per carry and 171.3 yards per game. He has found the endzone nine times.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
