Game Preview: at No. 3 Ohio State

• Saturday’s game is head coach Kirk Ferentz’s 14th road game against a top 10 opponent. Iowa has three top 10 road wins under Ferentz and 11 career victories against top 10 foes (home or away).
• Ferentz tied Chicago’s Amos Alonzo Stagg for second in Big Ten history with his 199th victory as a member of the Big Ten Conference on Sept. 21 at Minnesota. He trails only Ohio State’s Woody Hayes (205).
• Ohio native Kaleb Johnson notched his second career 200-yard game (fourth consecutive 100-yard game), finishing with a career-high 206 yards on 21 attempts and three touchdowns in the road win at Minnesota on Sept. 21. He was named the Doak Walker National RB of the Week and Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
• Johnson is the first Hawkeye since Mark Weisman in 2012 to have four straight 100-yard games and he is one of just Big Ten players with 680+ rush yards and 9+ touchdowns through a team’s first four games since 2000 (Javon Ringer, MSU, 2008; Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota, 2020).
• Big play KJ… Johnson has 12 rushes of 20+ yards and four touchdown runs of 25+ yards this season. Iowa has 14 20+ yard rushes in 2024.
• Iowa’s rushing attack has churned out 200+ yards in each of the first four games – a first for the program since 2013. The team’s 250.3 yards per game ranks second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally.
• Freshman punter Rhys Dakin was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week following his Week 4 performance at Minnesota. He punted five times, averaging 49.6 yards per punt with three inside the 20 and three 50+ yard punts.
• TOs – The Hawkeyes have forced seven turnovers in four games – five interceptions, two fumble recoveries. The seven takeaways are fifth in the Big Ten and 42nd nationally.
• TO free – Iowa’s offense has committed just two turnovers in 16 quarters this season. Iowa hasn’t committed a turnover since Week 2 against Iowa State. Iowa is one of 12 teams not to have lost a fumble so far in 2024.
• Iowa has played seven games decided by a single possession since the start of the 2023 season. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 in such games.
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 32 points and 397.8 yards of total offense through the first month of 2024, which ranks 53rd and 65th nationally, respectively. Iowa’s 33:10 time of possession is 14th in the nation.
• Senior LB Jay Higgins has led the team in tackles in all four games. He has a team-high 34 tackles (12 solo, 22 assisted), which ranks third in the Big Ten, and two interceptions. He had his 12th career 10+ tackle game in Week 2 against Iowa State.
• DB Jermari Harris had his first career pick-six, returning an interception 28-yards for a touchdown in Week 3 against Troy. It extended Iowa’s pick-six streak to 17 straight years, the longest active streak nationally. Harris ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 14th nationally with two interceptions. He also ranks second in the country in passes defended per game (1.8).
• Iowa’s rushing defense has allowed fewer than 100 yards in each of the first four games, including just 24 yards in Week 3 against Troy. The 24 yards were the fewest allowed by the Hawkeyes since 2022. The unit allows 62 rushing yards per game, fourth fewest in the nation, and hasn’t allowed a touchdown on the ground.
• Don’t beat yourself! Iowa didn’t commit a penalty in Week 3 against Troy. It was the third game since the start of the 2023 season where the Hawkeyes didn’t commit a penalty. Iowa leads the nation in fewest penalties (11), fewest penalties per game (2.75), fewest penalty yards (95) and fewest penalty yards per game (23.75).
• Iowa has had 400+ yards in two of the first four games under first-year OC Tim Lester. The last time the offense had 400+ yards twice in a season came in 2021.
• Iowa’s defense allowed just 189 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers to pitch its first season-opening shutout since 2005. Iowa has eight shutouts since 2018, second most in the FBS in that span (Georgia, 9).
• Iowa’s defense has allowed fewer than 400 yards in 32 consecutive games — the longest active streak nationally. The unit has allowed 14 or fewer points in 21 of their last 31 games and it has held 10 teams without a touchdown since the start of the 2022 season.
• Since the start of the 2015 season, Iowa is 74-3 when leading by eight points at any point in a game.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday’s game is the 67th all-time meeting in a series that began in 1922. Ohio State leads the all-time series, 48-15-3, and the Buckeyes have won 14 of the last 16 contests.
• This is just Iowa’s third trip to Columbus since 2013 and the sixth overall meeting since 2006. Iowa is 8-31-1 all-time at Ohio Stadium.
• The Hawkeyes have lost eight straight games at the Shoe with their last victory coming in 1991 — a 16-9 win.
• Ohio State has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last seven meetings.

SERIES RESULTS

11/27/1923 W 20-0 (A)
10/14/1924 T 0-0 (H)
10/24/1925 W 15-0 (A)
10/23/1926 L 6-23 (H)
10/8/1927 L 6-13 (A)
11/10/1928 W 14-7 (A)
10/13/1929 L 6-7 (A)
11/24/1934 L 7-40 (A)
10/7/1944 L 0-34 (A)
10/6/1945 L 0-42 (A)
10/18/1947 T 13-13 (A)
10/9/1948 W 14-7 (#11) (A)
10/28/1950 L 21-83 (#6) (A)
10/27/1951 L 21-47 (A)
10/25/1952 W 8-0 (#14) (H)
10/16/1954 L 14-20 (#4) (A)
11/12/1955 L 10-20 (#10) (A)
11/17/1956 W 6-0 (#6) (H)
11/16/1957 L 13-17 (#6) (A)
11/15/1958 L 28-38 (#16) (H)
11/14/1959 W 16-7 (A)
11/12/1960 W 35-12 (#3) (H)
11/4/1961 L 13-29 (#5) (A)
11/3/1962 W 28-14 (H)
11/2/1963 L 3-7 (#9) (A)
10/31/1964 L 19-21 (#1) (H)
11/13/1965 L 0-38 (A)
11/12/1966 L 10-14 (H)
11/18/1967 L 10-21 (A)
11/16/1968 L 27-33 (#2) (H)
9/11/1971 L 21-52 (#11) (A)
9/16/1972 L 0-21 (#3) (A)
11/17/1973 L 13-55 (#1) (A)
11/16/1974 L 10-35 (#4) (H)
10/11/1975 L 0-49 (#1) (A)
10/9/1976 L 14-34 (#10) (H)
10/15/1977 L 6-27 (#4) (H)
10/21/1978 L 7-31 (A)
11/10/1979 L 7-34 (#3) (A)
11/15/1980 L 7-41 (#7) (H)
9/24/1983 W 20-14 (#3) (H)
9/22/1984 L 26-45 (#5) (A)
11/2/1985 L 13-22 (#8) (A)
11/1/1986 L 10-31 (#17) (H)
11/14/1987 W 29-27 (A)
11/12/1988 T 24-24 (H)
11/11/1989 L 0-28 (A)
11/10/1990 L 26-27 (H)
11/2/1991 W 16-9 (#13) (A)
10/31/1992 L 15-38 (H)
10/28/1995 L 35-56 (#4) (A)
10/26/1996 L 26-38 (#2) (H)
10/4/1997 L 7-23 (#7) (A)
11/14/1998 L 14-45 (#7) (H)
10/30/1999 L 11-41 (#21) (A)
10/21/2000 L 10-38 (#14) (H)
10/18/2003 L 10-19 (#8) (A)
10/16/2004 W 33-7 (#25) (H)
9/24/2005 L 6-31 (#8) (A)
9/30/2006 L 17-38 (#1) (H)
11/14/2009 L 24-27, OT (#10) (A)
11/20/2010 L 17-20 (#8) (H)
10/19/2013 L 24-34 (#4) (A)
11/4/2017 W 55-24 (#3) (H)
10/22/2022 L 10-54 (#2) (A)
(2010 game was vacated due to NCAA sanctions)