The Ohio State Buckeyes entered Kinnick Stadium as the overwhelming favorite, expected to win by over 20 points. But by the time the game was over, they would be the fourth top five team to be upset by the Hawkeyes since 2008. With the help of four interceptions from the defense and five touchdowns along with 226 passing yards from the quarterback, Iowa was able to knock off the sixth ranked Buckeyes. Head coach Kirk Ferentz stated, “First of all, just really proud of our football team. I thought it was an outstanding effort by all of our guys. The big thing is our guys really believed in themselves all week long. They had a good week of preparation, and then most importantly came out and really played with great energy, great effort, a lot of grit, and played opportunistic football, and that’s important in a game like this.”
Iowa’s defense led the charge. The Hawkeyes were able to hold Ohio State to only 24 points, almost 25 below their season average. A key player in their success was Josh Jackson, who led the team with three interceptions. He was later named the National Defensive Player of the Week and Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Jackson stated, “It was a huge win for the university, and just to experience that moment at Kinnick Stadium with the fans rushing the field and my teammates, it was a great feeling just to leave the game with a victory,” said Jackson.
But perhaps the best performance of the game came from sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley. Stanley completed 20/31 passes and threw for 226 yards and five touchdowns. Ferentz commented on his performance, “I talked about our team growing, and that’s part of it. He’s done a lot of good things this year and had some tough plays. But the way he just keeps coming back, and he did a lot of really good things today against really good competition. Just the way he’s playing right now, [I am] really proud of the way he’s grown and developed.”
The Hawkeyes have yet another challenge this Saturday playing the undefeated, ninth ranked Wisconsin Badgers on the road.
