On Saturday, No. 2 Ohio State took care of Iowa, winning in a rout, 54-10.
However, early on, when the game was still close, a huge special teams play by the Buckeyes swung the momentum.
Late in the first quarter, with Ohio State leading 13-7 and Iowa facing a fourth and sixth deep in their own territory, the Hawkeyes tried to catch the Buckeyes off guard with a fake punt.
Iowa's punter Tory Taylor attempted a delayed fake, but Ohio State didn't bite, and the play was quickly snuffed out by defensive end Caden Curry.
Oh no
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 22, 2022
This fake punt by Iowa definitely didn't go according to plan pic.twitter.com/mdF6Hz3Kvy
According to Dave Biddle, editor of Bucknuts.com, credit for stymying the Hawkeyes' trickery goes to head coach Rya Day.
Ryan Day has a long memory, kids. Iowa ran a fake punt up relatively big in the second half during their win over OSU in '17 (Day's first season as an assistant OSU). BTW: Join me for Bucknuts' What We Learned Live podcast right after the game. @Bucknuts247
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) October 22, 2022
The Buckeyes outscored Iowa 41-3 the rest of the way, thanks to a big day from junior quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Stroud finished the day 20-of-30 for 286 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception.
Junior wideout Julian Fleming led Ohio State with 105 receiving yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. combined for 13 catches, 142 yards, and two scores.
With the victory, Ohio State stays undefeated, improving to 7-0.
Next Saturday, the Buckeyes will look to improve to 8-0 when they travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State at Noon.
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