IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa throttled sixth-ranked Ohio State 55-24, dealing what’s likely to be a fatal blow to the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes.
Nate Stanley threw for 226 yards and five touchdowns as the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) beat an opponent ranked in the top 5 of the AP Top 25 for the fourth time in their last five tries at home.
“I think the biggest factors in the game and the biggest thing is our guys finished the fight,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “They had a good week of preparation, and then most importantly came out and really played with great energy, great effort, a lot of grit, and played opportunistic football, and that’s important in a game like this.”
The Hawkeyes came into the game with a thoroughly mediocre offense, ranking eighth in the Big Ten in yards per play at 5.28. They shredded the Buckeyes(7-2, 5-1), averaging 6.95 yards per play and scored more points than any team ever has against a team coached by Urban Meyer.
Josh Jackson added three interceptions for Iowa, who raced out to a 31-17 halftime lead on a pair of Stanley touchdown passes to Noah Fant and cruised from there.
With Michigan State’s 27-24 win over Penn State, the top three teams in the Big Ten East have two losses with Sparty due in Columbus next Saturday. By virtue of their win over the Nittany Lions a week ago, the Buckeyes can gain the inside track to the conference championship game by beating MSU but a trip to Ann Arbor still looms and even winning out, including at the Big Ten title game, won’t make a two-loss team with a shellacking by an inferior opponent on its resume very attractive to the playoff selection committee.
Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa was ejected in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Iowa for targeting.
Bosa, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound sophomore, left his feet and made helmet-to-helmet contact with Stanley. Officials ejected Bosa after a review from the booth.