Top-ranked Ohio State travels to Iowa City this week to take on the unbeaten Iowa Hawkeyes in a prime time showdown in Kinnick Stadium and televised by ABC. Both teams head into the second week of conference play 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Ohio State won last years meeting 31-6 in Columbus.
This is probably the week that Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz would most like to be a fan of college football and not the head coach of the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.
“It’s going to be a great week with lots of excitement and energy and fun for the fans.” Said Ferentz who will lead the Hawkeyes into Kinnick Stadium Saturday for a 7 p.m. date with the nation’s top ranked team who, like the Hawkeyes, will carry a perfect 4-0 record into the event.
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The Buckeyes opened up conference play at home against the Nittany Lions last week. Leading only 14-6 late in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes got a lift from cornerbacks Malcolm Jenkins and Antonio Smith. Jenkins 61-yard return and Smith's first career interception in the final minutes iced the game for the Buckeyes who claimed a 28-6 victory over then No. 24 Penn State. The win extends Ohio State's current winning streak to 11 games, the second longest streak in college football. This season, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 124-32 allowing only Northern Illinois to score as many as 12 points in a game.
The Hawkeyes, who are ranked 13th in both major polls, are coming off a 24-7 victory at Illinois. Drew Tate completed 17-of-27 passes for 190 yards to lead an offense that collected 344 total yards. Running back Albert Young had six catches for 40 yards to go with his team-high 57 yards rushing, and Dominique Douglas added five catches for 64 yards.
While Ohio State holds a 43-14-3 series advantage over the Hawkeyes, Iowa had a decisive 33-7 win over the Buckeyes in 2004. Iowa is 2-0 at home this year with wins over Montana and Iowa State and holds a three-game winning streak at home. The 7:00 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC will be the only fifth night game played in Kinnick Stadium's history.
Both teams have been battle tested in 2006. Ohio State in a road game at Texas which the Buckeyes prevailed and Iowa at Syracuse where they overcame the loss of starting quarterback Drew Tate to win in double-overtime.
Buckeye coach Tressel knows what to expect on the Buckeye’s trip to Iowa City. “I don’t think they’ve started 5-0 since 1995, and being 4-0, beating their in-state rivals, which is a big victory, and winning a tough overtime game at Syracuse without their quarterback is a big one, and of course starting out 1-0 in the Big Ten when you started out on the road, so I’d say their momentum is as good as it could possibly be.” Tressel said. “They’re going to have a tremendous atmosphere at Kinnick Stadium so there’s not anyone in our building that doesn’t understand what a great challenge it’s going to be.
Dialing up the hype-meter is ESPN GameDay’s first appearance on the Iowa campus since 1996.
Ohio State has been installed the favorite –7 points by most sportsbooks. The game total is set at 43.
