Welcome to Femme Football, the Ohio State football coverage for Her Campus. Here, you’ll find an overview of this week’s game with in-depth explanation to build your understanding week by week, as well as position highlights that will teach the responsibilities of different players.
Ohio State went full “Alice in Wonderland” at Iowa on Saturday, tripping into a hole they could not stop falling down. Iowa walked away with an upset, 55-24. 55 points are the most Ohio State has allowed in a game since 1994.
It’s hard to tell what exactly went wrong, but it’s safe to say almost everything. When your star pass rusher gets ejected for targeting (read further), your star quarterback throws four interceptions, and your star corners (1) can’t seem to remember what a wide receiver is, you have a recipe for utter disaster.
Eight seconds into the game, Iowa was up, echoing last week’s Penn State start. From then on, it was a tight race with the Buckeyes yet again being barraged by penalties. Ohio State was called for nine penalties this game, averaging 8.3 penalties over the last three games. The Buckeyes rank 114th in the nation for penalties per game, the 16th worst.
Twice in two consecutive plays, Ohio state lost a member of their seemingly indestructible offensive line. Jamarco Jones went down, followed by Demetrius Knox, both of which allowed for unexperienced lineman to give up yards. The offensive line had been boasting that the whole line had been solid, not missing a snap, but Iowa’s defensive line brought them down.
To add insult to penalty-induced/awful performance-induced score injury, Iowa was rolling over the Ohio State defense. Ohio state did not have a first down in the third quarter, but somehow pulled 20 first downs in comparison to Iowa’s 24. Iowa owned the night with 244 total yards. Not to mention Nick Bosa, defensive end (2) and critical component to the Silver Bullets (3), was ejected after a targeting penalty in which he clearly launched the crown of his helmet into the helmet of another player.
The question remains: have Ohio State’s play-off dreams been obliterated? The short answer is yes. Ohio State’s ranking will take a hit, but the intensity of the hit depends on the turnout of top 25 teams at the end of the weekend. At least Penn State lost, too. It’s almost unheard of to have a two-loss team in the play-offs. In an ideal world, the Buckeyes win out for the rest of the season, face Wisconsin in the Big Ten championships, and stomp them to get a bowl game.
The position highlight goes to the fans who watched the game until the last second, even as Iowa fans poured onto the field in a moment Buckeye fans know all too well. The Buckeyes are nothing without the 10th Unit. Keep your heads up, because although they did not smash through to victory, it is our duty to cheer them as they go.
1 Corners: The defensive players who are responsible for covering the wide receivers.
2 Defensive end: A position on the defensive line whose job is to break through the offensive line and rush the passer, as well as stop running plays at the middle of the line of scrimmage.
3 Silver Bullets: A nickname for Ohio State’s defensive line.