Ohio State spoils Iowa’s College Gameday appearance
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Kane Manfull, Midwest Correspondent
- October 4, 2026
Jeremiah Smith, Devin Sanchez shine for Ohio State
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the first time in 20 years, Iowa City was center stage in the college football world as “College Gameday” made an appearance. The No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes stepped into a striped-out Kinnick Stadium to play the No.14 Iowa Hawkeyes.
“You’ve got to play clean and really be smart,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “If you are going to give yourself a chance to win, you’ve got to do that, and we came up short today.”
The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 31-14, dominating both sides of the football. The Buckeyes’ offense moved the ball at will, recording 484 total yards and 25 first downs.
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith Show
Jeremiah Smith recorded video game numbers once again, hauling in 11 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns. In the third quarter, Smith broke away from Iowa’s Anthony Hawkins for a 57-yard touchdown. Smith struck a Heisman pose in the north end zone of Kinnick Stadium in celebration.
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“You just got to let the Heisman voters – or whoever it is – know that I’m the best player in the country,” Smith said. “I’ve got to be there.”
Aside from the obvious headline receiver, the game also featured Iowa receiver Tony Diaz and Ohio State defensive back Devin Sanchez , two of the best Latino players in college football.
Sanchez had three tackles and half a tackle for a loss. Diaz had five catches for 59 yards.
In his first year at the FBS level, Diaz leads the Hawkeyes receiver room in both receptions (25) and receiving yards (306). Sanchez leads the Buckeyes’ defensive backfield with 16 solo tackles.
Iowa’s historically consistent run game struggled again this week, continuing its trend against Power 4 opponents this season.
The Hawkeyes have totaled only 190 rushing yards combined against Iowa State, Michigan and Ohio State. Kamari Moulton was the leading contributor with 27 of Iowa’s 39 rushing yards against the Buckeyes defense.
Iowa’s early fumble sets tone
Iowa quarterback Hank Brown recorded his worst performance of the season. He completed only 12 of 27 passes for just 132 yards. On the second play of the game, Brown fumbled after being hit by Ohio State’s Kenyatta Jackson Jr., killing the early energy brought by the crowd of 70,000, which included the legendary Caitlin Clark.
With just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Brown overthrew Diaz on a deep crossing pattern.
Although there was no return on the interception by Jaylen McClain, the turnover killed any glimmer of hope the Hawkeyes still possessed. Iowa trailed 24-6 at that point.
“We’ll look at the film and learn from it like we always do,” Ferentz said. “It’s imperative this week we’ve got to move on. You’ve got to move on faster because we’ve got a six day week.”
Kane Manfull
Midwest Correspondent
Kane Manfull has over four years of involvement in visual and print storytelling. He has been recognized by NSPA, NFPW, NATAS Mid-America Emmys and many more for his work in video storytelling, feature writing and live broadcast.
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