THE RUNNING START

When: Saturday, November 4, 2017
Where: Iowa City, Kinnick Stadium
TV: 3:30 p.m., ESPN 
Announcers: Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay

This is the 65th time Ohio State and Iowa will play each other in football. The Buckeyes are 47–14–3* all-time against the Hawkeyes. Kirk Ferentz's team enters this contest with a 5–3 record in 2017. 

*NCAA sanctions be damned.

Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State played Iowa, the Buckeyes won 34-24 in 2013.
• The Buckeyes played the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Ohio State won 20-17 in 2010.
• Iowa won was 2004 (7-33).
• An Urban Meyer Ohio State team faced a ranked Iowa team was...never.
• The Hawkeyes defeated the Buckeyes in an odd numbered year, in Iowa City, was 1983.
• The Buckeyes lost the ninth game of the season was 2008.

ON THE HORIZON​

• Billy Price will start for the 50th consecutive time against Iowa. That will tie Luke Fickell (1993-1996) for the longest streak in program history.
• The Buckeyes have amassed 500 or more yards of total offense in six straight games, a first for Buckeye football.
• Barrett is tied with Joe Germaine with eight 300-yard passing games. He is one 300-yard game from holding the outright record.
• This is the 203rd game in Urban Meyer's career. Among active coaches, he has the highest winning percentage (.851) and is ranked third in the history of Division I history.
• Since 1890, the Buckeyes are 62–30–4 (.667) in the ninth game of the season and 28–16–3 (.628) on the road. 
• Ohio State is 14–2 when ranked and facing an unranked Big Ten opponent on the road in game 9. OSU's two losses in this scenario were in 1981 and 1974.
• Urban Meyer led Ohio State teams have never lost the ninth game of the season (5–0).

University of Iowa

GET TO KNOW IOWA

• The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, IA.
• The university was established in 1847. 
• The Hawkeyes are 5–3 this season.
• Iowa is 44–29 (.603) since 2012.
• Kirk Ferentz's team beat Minnesota 17-10 last week.
• Since joining the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes are 322–372–25 (.465) against conference opponents.

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Who owns the Ohio State record for completions in a single game? How many completions is the record?
2. How many Ohio State defensive backs have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft?
3. Urban Meyer has faced 54 unranked opponents as Ohio State's head coach. How many wins does he have against those unranked teams? 

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

2017 Player Comparison

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
J.T. BARRETT	2,155 YDS // 25 TD // 1 INT	PASSING	NATHAN STANLEY	1,698 YDS // 17 TD // 4 INT
J.K. DOBBINS	863 YDS // 7.6 YPC 5 TD	RUSHING	AKRUM WADLEY	643 YDS //  4.0 YPC // 5 TD
PARRIS CAMPBELL	399 YDS // 2 TD	RECEIVING	NICK EASLEY	375 YDS // 4 TD
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
DAMON WEBB	35	TACKLES	JOSEY JEWELL	68
NICK BOSA	4.0	SACKS	ANTHONY NELSON	5.0
DAMON WEBB	2	INTERCEPTIONS	JOSHUA JACKSON	2
SPECIAL TEAMS
K.J. HILL	4.6 YPR	PUNT RETURNER	JOSHUA JACKSON	7.2 YPR
PARRIS CAMPBELL	36.6 YPR	KICKOFF RETURN	AKRUM WADLEY	25.0 YPR
DRUE CHRISMAN	42.7	PUNTING	RYAN GERSONDE	42.5
6		EDGE	4

THE COACHES

This is the second time Urban Meyer and Kirk Ferentz have squared off as head coaches. 

Urban Meyer

• 68–7 (.907) at Ohio State (6th year)
• 172–30 (.851) overall (16th year)
• 44–2 (.957) Big Ten regular season conference record
• 0 Big Ten Coach of the Year Awards

Kirk Ferentz

• 140–95 (.596) at Iowa (19th year)
• 152–116 (.567) overall as a college coach (22nd year)
• 85–67 (.559) Big Ten regular season conference record
• 4 Big Ten Coach of the Year Awards

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

 

• Ohio State has defeated Iowa in 12 of the last 13 games.
• Buckeye teams under Urban Meyer have scored 50 or more points 23 times. The Buckeyes won all of those games.
• The Buckeyes have not allowed any opponent to return a punt this season.
• Urban Meyer is 21–1 in Big Ten road games.
• 2008 was the last time Ohio State lost the ninth game of the season. Penn State won 13-6 in Columbus. 
• 1994 was the last time the Bucks lost the ninth game of the season on the road. Penn State won 63-14 in State College.
• Johnnie Dixon has 13 catches this season. Six of those receptions were for touchdowns.
• Nick Bosa leads the Buckeyes with 10.0 tackles for loss.
• 16 different players have caught a pass this season. 10 different player have a receiving touchdown. 
• The Buckeyes' last game on November 4th was a 17-10 squeaker at Illinois in 2006.
• Ohio State is 15–2 on the 4th of November and have won 13 straight games played on that date.

2017 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
46.3	2nd	POINTS FOR	25.0	88th
244.4	17th	RUSHING OFFENSE	130.8	99th
326.9	11th	PASSING OFFENSE	215.1	78th
571.3	2nd	TOTAL OFFENSE	345.9	103rd
.485	8th	3rd DOWNS	.376	79th
.875	46th	RED ZONE	.679	126th
DEFENSE
18.3	18th	POINTS ALLOWED	17.4	12th
107.3	10th	RUSH DEFENSE	145.4	46th
195.3	33rd	PASS DEFENSE	223.4	69th
117.5	40th	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	108.1	18th
302.5	12th	TOTAL DEFENSE	368.8	46th
.320	28th	3rd DOWNS	.305	19th
.700	9th	RED ZONE	.800	50th
SPECIAL TEAMS
4.9	97th	PUNT RETURN	6.3	76th
28.2	2nd	KICKOFF RETURN	22.0	49th
41.8	11th	NET PUNTING	39.1	42nd
MISCELLANEOUS
+ 0.6	24th	TURNOVER MARGIN	- 0.3	80th
7.8	114th	PENALTIES	5.5	37th
13		EDGE	5

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS
 

Who owns the Ohio State record for completions in a single game? How many passes did he complete?

Answer: J.T. Barrett broke the last week with 33 completions against Penn State.

How many Ohio State defensive backs have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft?

Answer: 77. Only USC (80) has had more DBs selected in the first round.

Urban Meyer has faced 54 unranked opponents as Ohio State's head coach, how many wins does he have against those unranked teams? 

Answer: Meyer and the Buckeyes are 51–3 against teams not ranked in the top 25.

ICYMI
The Series History: Ohio State/Iowa
The 1942 Season Through The Words Of the Past: 10/30/1942