COLUMBUS, Ohio — At 3:26 p.m. ET, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day sprinted across the field and shook Iowa counterpart Kirk Ferentz’s hand. It was a brief encounter that ended one the most devastating losses in recent Iowa History.
The second-ranked Buckeyes’ 54-10 annihilation proves there’s no depth too low for Iowa’s offense. This year’s third annual championship, the HawkeyesThey were held without an offensive touchdown and have now reached an eight-game streak without payingdirt. For the third time in seven games, Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) couldn’t crack 160 yards of total offense. Five sacks were surrendered by the Hawkeyes, three fumbles were lost and three interceptions were thrown.
Ohio State took over inside Iowa’s 40-yard line six times, and that doesn’t include an interception that was returned for a touchdown. The Hawkeyes’ average of 2.7 yards per play was the worst of the season. It is shocking for an offense that ranks between 120th and last nationally in nearly all major statistical categories to reach new lows, regardless of who the opponent.
“We’re not playing well enough,” Ferentz said about his team’s lack of offensive execution. “I can’t give you an answer. If I had that answer, you probably would have seen something today.”
Was it possible to make anything work?
Iowa was left with nothing to be proud of, having surrendered its highest point total since 1995’s 56-35 loss at Ohio State. The defense performed well and kept Iowa in the game until Buckeyes unleashed all their arsenal in second half to destroy the Hawkeyes. The offense looked ill-prepared in every facet after last week’s bye. Punter Tory TaylorHe carried the ball by himself and was stopped just short of a first-down, giving the Iowa Buckeyes the ball at 40.
One word: yuck.
Alex Padilla took over from Iowa starter Spencer Petras as the quarterback in Saturday’s second half. (Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)
Changes in QB
This season, the quarterback will be at various points. Spencer Petras appeared on the outs as the team’s starter. Petras took every snap, no matter how much he struggled. At halftime, that all changed.
On Iowa’s first offensive play, Petras rolled left and threw into double coverage and was intercepted. Petras fell on a stripsack two series later. Both Buckeyes’ first quarter turnovers allowed them to gain possession of the Iowa 30. The defense stood strong, allowing only two field goals after those turnovers.
Then came the turnover from which Petras couldn’t recover. After the Buckeyes’ fourth first-half field goal, Iowa took over at its 13 trailing 19-10 with 3:33 left. Petras dropped back and looked at multiple receivers before firing over center to run back. Gavin Williams. Petras was behind Williams and went directly to linebacker Tommy EichenbergThe interception was returned 15 yards by, for a score.
Petras completed the half-way point, but the staff decided to change.
“I just thought at that time it was the best thing to do for all parties involved,” Ferentz said.
Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz informed junior backup Alex Padilla about the shift before halftime, and the quarterback opened the second half with the ball at Ohio State’s 44 following a Hawkeyes’ interception. Then in a play that mirrored the entire game, Padilla didn’t handle the exchange from center Logan JonesThe Buckeyes then recovered the fumble.
“I’ve never been in a game with Logan before so there’s obviously some new stuff with that, and then having a little bit of nerves and stuff like that, entering a game like this,” Padilla said. “So, probably a combination of all those things. Just unacceptable.”
“I’m a line coach so everywhere I worked they always blamed the center,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I blame both guys. You can’t win games if you can’t get the center exchange. I know it was practiced at halftime.”
The defense forced Iowa to punt after the fumble. Two plays later, Padilla’s first pass caromed off tight end Sam LaPorta’s hands and was intercepted. The Iowa 15 was taken over by the Buckeyes, who scored four plays later on a fourth down pass to take the lead 33-10 and end any hope of the Hawkeyes.
Padilla was able to complete 5-of-10 passes for 32 yard and was sacked three more times. Petras was 6-of-14 passing 49 yards for Petras and was sacked twice. Staff has yet to decide who will be starting next week. Northwestern.
“Let’s talk about that Tuesday,” Ferentz said. “We’ll watch the film like we always do and try and make a smart evaluation.”
A catastrophic disaster
Iowa ranked last nationally in total offense entering the day and now the Hawkeyes’ average fell by more than 11 yards to 227.3 yards per game. In a full-season, the only offense that was statistically worse was Wake Forest(216.3) in 2014. The Demon Deacons were 3-9 overall.
Prior to Saturday, the Hawkeyes were ranked 127th on rush offense, scoring offense, scoring offense, red-zone offense, and pass offense. They did not meet their season averages in any area against Ohio State.
From the opening play, it appeared Iowa’s offensive staff designed a plan that countered its player capabilities. Petras has struggled throughout his career with rolling to his left, throwing across his body, and in the past, Illinois was the perfect example of this. A first-and goal throw went incomplete and Petras fell to his left toward an open running back. On Iowa’s first snap, Petras was in shotgun and rolled left to the field and threw toward tight end Sam LaPorta but into bracketed coverage.
Perhaps the most questionable play call came early in the second quarter on the Hawkeyes’ deepest penetration. Petras attempted a screen pass for LaPorta at third-and-9 from the Ohio State 30. He was stopped for a loss of one yard. Two weeks ago at Illinois, the Hawkeyes attempted a similar screen pass on LaPorta. It lost eight yards. The 250-pound tight end was able to quickly fall on both occasions, and a defensive back collapsed.
Reporters pressed Ferentz about offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s status after the 9-6 loss to the Illini, to which the head coach replied: “Making a change? No, no, no, no,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We won 10 games last year.”
After the loss on Saturday, Cleveland.com columnist Doug Lesmerises asked Kirk Ferentz a similar line of questions and why he wouldn’t make a change at offensive coordinator the way he did at quarterback.
“You’re talking about two separate job descriptions in two separate areas of responsibility,” Ferentz said. “I know people do it. I know it’s been done. It’s been done this year. Again, it’s just not my preference. I prefer to just let it go. And there’s evidence to show that it’s worked pretty well in the past. So, we’ll play it up. And then we’ll do our assessments and our evaluations when everything is over and the season’s not over. So, when the season is over, we’ll make an evaluation I think is best for our program.”
Ferentz was questioned about the offensive woes because his son is the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. He also discussed whether the relationship is putting him in a bad position.
“It’s got no bearing on who the person is,” Ferentz said. “It’s just a matter of who is coaching our football team. OK, I believe the men on our staff have shown success. They’re good people, and we’re going to keep pushing forward. I don’t feel like we’re doing anything wrong.”
Asked whether he will evaluate Brian Ferentz differently than another assistant, the head coach said, “We’ve tried to treat everybody with consistency on our staff past and present. Same with players. We’ve had three family members play as well in our program and they’ve got to earn everything they get just like coaches do.”
Iowa’s regular season ends Nov. 25 at home against Nebraska.
Ruining a solid performance
The offensive woes decimated a solid defensive performance, which was halted by the dam in the second period. In the first half, four times the Buckeyes occupied the Iowa 35. The defense held Ohio State back from field goals all four times. The first-half interception return will go on the defensive ledger as will Ohio State’s 15-yard touchdown drive following a third-quarter interception. But these touchdowns should still be charged to the offense.
Ohio State was held to a season low 360 yards. This is well below the 543.7 average. The Buckeyes ran for just 66 yards in 30 rushes, which is 102 yards lower than the preview low. Arkansas State.
“When I was on the sideline. I sat down and I was looking up at like their total yards,” defensive tackle Noah Shannon said. “At the time I was looking at it, it was like 298 or something like that. I forget the score with maybe like 42 or something like that, but it just didn’t all like align in my head.”
Iowa’s defense had held five of its previous six opponents to 10 points or fewer. Iowa began the day third in scoring defense (9.8). No other team had surrendered fewer plays over 30 yards (three). Only one of the 30+ plays was allowed by the Hawkeyes, a touchdown pass at 79 yards from C.J. StroudTo Julian Fleming.
“To keep them short of the end zone that was a positive certainly,” Ferentz said. “But it doesn’t matter if you can’t match points at some point.”
(Top photo by Gavin Williams: Gaelen Morrise / Getty Images
