Buckeye Historian: The Iowa series

Vo. 1, No. 5

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Buckeye Historian from Cus Words Sports!

Today we take a closer look at the Ohio State-Iowa series, a game that has not been played nearly enough lately but still includes many memorable editions for Buckeye fans of all ages.

That includes an all-time great performance by an all-time great Buckeye, a couple of classic Tresselball games, a pair of shocking blowouts and a matchup that looks a lot like the one coming up this weekend.

Ohio State leads the all-time series 49-15-3.

The Buckeyes have won the last two, seven of the last eight and 15 of the last 17.

Ohio State led the series 13-10-2 after an Iowa win in 1962, but Buckeyes are 36-5-1 since then.

The Buckeyes are 17-7-2 in Iowa City with wins in seven of the last nine there. However, the two losses were both embarrassing blowouts 55-24 in 2017 and 33-7 in 2004. (Ohio State last lost at home to Iowa in 1991.)

Last time both teams were ranked in the top 15 was 2006, one that had a similar lead-up to this coming matchup with ESPN College GameDay in Iowa City.

Tressel Tales: Buckeyes trounce Northwestern under the lights at Ohio Stadium

Like most things, conference expansion has made this series worse. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes have played only three times since 2014 while they played Rutgers and Maryland every year from 2014-23.

What’s unusual about this series is Ohio State has dominated even though Iowa has been good fairly often. That is to say, Ohio State has dominated most of its series, but Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, et al are usually not ranked.

Of the 11 previous matchups in this century, Iowa was ranked in five (but not in either of their wins).

Buckeye Historian: Ohio State-Illinois, a sneaky good series

1950: No. 6 Ohio State 83, Iowa 21

In one of the greatest one-man shows in college football history, Vic Janowicz had a hand in an incredible 46 points.

Janowicz recovered a fumble on Iowa’s first play from scrimmage, then scored on an 11-yard trap five plays later. After the Hawkeyes went three-and-out on the next series, Janowicz ran the ensuing punt back 61 yards for a touchdown.

Iowa would fumble three more time in the first quarter (including another recovered by Janowicz) and ended up with one first down compared to five touchdowns for the Buckeyes, who led 55-0 midway through the second quarter.

Janowicz, a single-wing halfback who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season, completed five of six passes for 133 yards and four touchdowns. He also kicked 10 extra points, kicked multiple touchbacks and punted twice for a total of 84 yards.

This remains the most points Ohio State has scored against a Big Ten opponent and the third-most against any team. Ohio State’s 12 touchdowns are also the most against a Big Ten team.

Tressel Tales: Freshman enjoys breakout game at Indiana

1985: No. 8 Ohio State 22, No. 1 Iowa 13

Ohio State overcame the absence of injured star tailback Keith Byars by intercepting Iowa QB Chuck Long four times, including two by Chris Spielman. The Buckeyes raced to a 15-0 lead on a safety, two field goals and a John Wooldridge touchdown run of 57 yards and scored 10 points off turnovers by Long, the nation’s leading passer. Spielman and fellow linebacker Pepper Johnson both made 19 tackles, including a third-quarter stop by Spielman of the Hawkeyes on fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State 10-yard line. Jim Karsatos passed for 157 yards, while fullback George Cooper ran for 102 yards to help offset the loss of Byars.

1990: Ohio State 27, No. 6 Iowa 26

Greg Frey connected with Bobby Olive in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown with 0:01 remaining in the game to clinch a 27-26 upset. The pass capped a drive that saw Ohio State take possession at the Iowa 48-yard line with :59 on the clock and no timeouts. The Buckeyes trailed by 12 points with 11:00 remaining in the game, but Frey threw three touchdown passes during the span, including two to Olive.  Linebacker Steve Tovar led the Buckeye defense with 14 tackles.

1996: No. 2 Ohio State 38, No. 20 Iowa 26

The Buckeyes opened up a 38-6 lead against the Hawkeyes, who were previously undefeated in Big Ten play, before Tim Dwight fueled a furious comeback attempt. The Hawkeye return man scored on an 86-yard punt return and set up another touchdown with a long return, but the Buckeye defense was able to quash the rally with strong play from a number of players, including linebackers Andy Katzenmoyer, Greg Bellisari and Ryan Miller while Damon Moore snagged a school-record-tying three interceptions and reserve tailback Joe Montgomery ran for 160 yards

1997: No. 7 Ohio State 23, No. 11 Iowa 7

Andy Katzenmoyer led an Ohio State defense that bottled up Tavian Banks, the nation’s leading rusher, all afternoon. Katzenmoyer stopped Banks, who had been averaging over 11 yards per carry, on each of his first three runs, for no gain, a loss of two and no gain. He finished with 82 yards rushing, well below his 209-yard average, while Ohio State tailbacks Pepe Pearson and Michael Wiley ran for 109 and 85 yards, respectively. Katzenmoyer was credited with 11 tackles and filled out his day by throwing a crushing block from the fullback position on one of Wiley’s two TD runs.

2003: No. 8 Ohio State 18, No. 9 Iowa 10

Ohio State won a top 10 matchup without scoring an offensive touchdown in a classic Tresselball game. Michael Jenkins returned a punt 54 yards and Donte Whitner recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for the Buckeyes’ two touchdowns. They also recorded a safety in the fourth quarter and won despite being outgained 219-185.

2004: Iowa 33, No. 23 Ohio State 7

Drew Tate through for 331 yards and three touchdowns as Iowa romped from start to finish. The Hawkeyes outgained the Buckeyes 448-177 and held them to 24 yards rushing. Most notable about this game: Starting QB Justin Zwick was knocked out with a shoulder injury, leading the offense to be turned over to sophomore Troy Smith. This is the last time Ohio State has lost three games in a row.

2005: No. 8 Ohio State 31, Iowa 6

After stumbling inconsistently through the first part of the season with a new spread offense, Ohio State came out in the I formation and simply bowled over a youthful Hawkeye front. Antonio Pittman followed a crushing lead block from fullback Dionte Johnson on the game’s first play, gaining 12 yards, and Ohio State had seen all it needed to see about how to attack the Hawkeyes. Pittman finished with a career-high 171 yards on 28 carries, while Troy Smith ran for 127 yards rushing on 18 carries. Ohio State outrushed the visitors 314 to minus-9 while Tate’s day did not go quite so well. He finished 22-39 passing for 146 yards and an interception,

2006: No. 1 Ohio State 38, No. 13 Iowa 17

Troy Smith threw for 186 yards and four touchdowns as Ohio State spread out the Hawkeye defense and attacked the edges with a precision passing game. Anthony Gonzalez caught five passes for 77 yards and Ted Ginn Jr. had seven catches for 69 yards while Roy Hall and Brian Robiskie also caught touchdown passes for the Buckeyes. Pittman and Chris “Beanie” Wells combined to carry 39 times for 195 yards. Tate threw for 249 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times.

2009: No. 10 Ohio State 27, No. 15 Iowa 24

The Buckeyes led 24-10 after Brandon Saine’s 49-yard touchdown run with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter, but Iowa scored 14 straight points to force overtime. Youngstown native Derrell Johnson-Koulianos returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and backup QB James Vandeberg led a game-tying touchdown drive in the closing minutes of regulation.

Iowa got the ball first in overtime, but its possession was a disaster. After an incomplete pass on first down, Adam Robison ran for a 6-yard loss on second down. Doug Worthington sacked Vandeberg on third down, forcing the Hawkeyes out of field goal range, and Anderson Russell intercepted his desperation fourth down pass. That set up Devin Barclay’s 39-yard field goal that clinched a share of the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes.

2010: No. 8 Ohio State 20, No. 21 Iowa 17

Ohio State scored 10 unanswered points to rally for a win in the fourth quarter. After a 48-yard field goal by Barclay, Dan Herron’s 1-yard touchdown run was the game-winner with 1:47 left. On the ensuing possession, Cam Heyward sacked Ricky Stanzi to force a fourth-and-21 then Ross Homan and Jermale Hines brought down Marvin McNutt two yards short of a first down to clinch the win. Terrelle Pryor threw for 195 yards and ran for 78, but he was intercepted twice and completed only 18 of 33 passes.

2017: Iowa 55, No. 3 Ohio State 24

Amani Hooker returned a J.T. Barrett interception 30 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, a sign of things to come. Though the Buckeyes tied the game three times in the first half, they never led as Barrett threw three more interceptions and Iowa ran for 243 yards while passing for 244 in a stunning blowout that cost Ohio State a chance to make the College Football Playoff.

That’s all for this edition, but if you like what you see, please share by forwarding this email, sharing the link on social media or sending someone this link.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for This Week in Ohio State Football, my weekly rundown of what’s going on with the current Buckeyes.

Also here is this weeks’ Tressel Tales recounting the first season of Jim Tressel’s tenure as head coach of the Buckeyes.

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