Ohio State vs. Iowa was supposed to be a marquee match-up in the Big Ten this season, but with the Hawkeyes’ offensive struggles, few people doubted the outcome of this meeting in Columbus before kickoff.
Coming off a bye week, it was also supposed to be a game in which Ohio State could come out and set the tone for the second half of the season. But if that first half of the game was the tone, Ryan Day and company must be tone-deaf. Ohio State struggled through an unsatisfying first half full of odd play calls, a seeming confusion about what to call in key moments, and plays that were there to be made, not getting made.