Can Ohio State avoid another Kinnick disaster? | Scarlet & Gray Matter

4 short-attention spans

On the road again, to one of the toughest stadium settings in the Big Ten … Top-rated scoring defense (Iowa) vs. No. 6 scoring offense (Ohio State) … Jeremiah Smith, with 34 career touchdown receptions, should match or break Chris Olave’s school record 35 … Can the Buckeyes stop Iowa’s run game?

Pregame buzz

The Buckeyes have not visited Iowa City since 2017, when Ryan Day was quarterbacks coach under Urban Meyer. Ohio State lost a 55-24 debacle at Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes scoring 31 straight points after the game was tied at 17. Nine seasons is a long time to hold a grudge, but the Buckeyes will want some revenge on the team that cost them a playoff spot that year.

One-liner

Iowa is going to party like it’s 1999, the year Kirk Ferentz became head coach. In other

words, the party will be a pooper.

Make or breakers

Ohio State needs to keep drives alive or risk running into the same problem it faced in 2017. Losing. The Buckeyes rank 50th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (.444), while the Hawkeyes rank 12th in third down percentage defense (.268). 

Robo’s rankings

1. Texas (2 last week) … The Longhorns have two wins over top-15 teams (No. 1 Ohio State and No. 14 Tennessee), which puts them ahead of Notre Dame because … 
2. Notre Dame (1) … Play someone, already. And no, playing Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels this week is not somebody.   
3. Georgia (5) … This may be Kirby Smart’s best defense, which is saying something.  
4. Miami (unranked) … Not 100% sold on the Canes, but 51.8 points a game is impressive.
5. Ohio State (unranked) … The defensive line remains a concern, but the Buckeyes’ offense moves OSU past Indiana this week. 

Robo’s rantings

Has college football civilization decomposed to the point of players breaking out the “pee on the field” celebration after making a big play? Sadly, the answer is yes. What was Texas defensive end Colin Simmons thinking when he simulated urinating on the field inside Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium after a third-down sack? Answer: He wasn’t. Hours later, USC linebacker Desman Stephens II celebrated after delivering a late hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore that resulted in Moore suffering a concussion. The Trojans suspended Stephens, but one has to wonder what has become of good sportsmanship? And if these actions are merely a reflection of our increasingly crass society, well, heaven help us.   

Numbers for dummies

2.6 billion – bushels of corn produced by Iowa annually, which leads the nation. 

69,250 – seating capacity of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium.

76,229 – population of Iowa City, home of the Hawkeyes.

.722 – Julian Sayin’s completion percentage, ranking 16th in FBS; he finished last season No. 1 (.770). 

Across the Field

Iowa mostly has outlasted its critics, of which I was one, who made fun of the caveman offense the Hawkeyes ran in 2022-23. At its worst, Iowa's offense ranked 130th and last nationally with a puny 234.6 yards a game. Through four games this season, Iowa ranks 48th with 429 yards per game. Famous Iowa alum: Tom Brokaw. 

We SEC you (a weekly look at that other conference)

With four teams in the top 10 (No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Florida) and five in the top 12 (No. 11 LSU and No. 12 Ole Miss), the SEC is the most dangerous top-down conference. The Big Ten has Indiana at No. 5 and Ohio State at No. 6, but nothing again until Iowa at 14 and Oregon at 15. The SEC is 2-1 against the Big Ten head-to-head and 10-2 in head-to-head and Power Four non-conference games. 

Dad joke

What has ears but cannot hear? A cornfield.

Just wondering

The weather is beginning to turn – fall officially arrived Sept. 22 – which raises the question: Would Ohio State fans rather attend games in 30-degree temperatures or 90? It probably depends where you sit in Ohio Stadium. Sun or shade? The Horseshoe is brutally hot when September temps reach 80 and the sun bakes the east side of the stadium for most of the game. But freezing in 35 degree weather in C-deck can’t be fun, either. What do you say?

Day delivery

What the coach said: "We're taking all applications. We need production." − reacting to whether he thinks the defensive pressure on quarterbacks has been good enough.

What we heard: Seven sacks through four games is not good enough.

Inside the biz

I still recall the first time I visited Iowa City for a Buckeyes-Hawkeyes game. My thought going in was the locale would be flat as a pancake, but instead the rolling hills made it one of my favorite venues in the Big Ten. Iowans know how to party – honest – and while they don’t get after it like Wisconsin fans, the atmosphere around Kinnick Stadium is among the best in the conference. Check it out sometime. You won’t be disappointed. 

Horseshoe haiku

What appears to have

Eight arms and as many legs? 

Jeremiah Smith

 Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at [e-mail] and on X.com at @rollerCD. 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Can Ohio State avoid another Kinnick disaster? | Scarlet & Gray Matter