Buckeyes Pull Out the Stops

A.J. Hawk and the Ohio State defense stuffed Iowa’s running game and kept Hawkeye quarterback Drew Tate on the run all day.

Troy Smith threw two touchdown passes to Anthony Gonzalez and ran for two scores to support a dominant defensive performance by the eighth-ranked Buckeyes in a 31-6 victory over No. 21 Iowa on Saturday.

“The key was when they started out trying to run the ball and we were able to stop them,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. “Once that happened, that gave us some flexibility to turn those guys loose.

“We put our ears back. We’ve got some guys who can go.”

Iowa (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) finished with 18 rushes for minus nine yards as Hawk and Mike Kudla were each credited with 1 1/2 sacks for 15 yards in losses. The Buckeyes constantly harassed Tate, sacking him five times for minus 43 yards.

“I couldn’t get outside,” Tate said. “I couldn’t do anything.”

The Hawkeyes, averaging 428 yards a game, mustered only 70 through the first three quarters and ended up with 137. They were forced to punt on their first seven possessions, running one play in Ohio State territory -- and by that time the Buckeyes were in control, 24-0.

“It was pretty much a one-sided football game both ways,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Ohio State came in with huge questions about its own running game, a shortage of big plays and an inability to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

“Any concerns they may have had offensively coming in, it looks like they cured them today,” Ferentz said.

Antonio Pittman rushed for 171 yards in 28 carries for the Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0), with Smith adding 127 yards in 18 carries and touchdowns of 16 and four yards.

Smith also completed 13 of 19 passes for 191 yards without an interception, although he did fumble three times and had another erased by a penalty.