When Billy Price was asked to take stock of Saturday’s 55-24 loss to Iowa and compare it to the other losses he has suffered in his Ohio State career, the fifth-year senior center referenced almost every one of them in the process of giving his answer.
Remembering which games he has lost wasn’t difficult for Price, considering that the Buckeyes have only lost eight times since he arrived on campus for his redshirt year in 2013. Remembering the emotions that were associated with those losses, though, was more difficult.
"I’ve been a part of the tough losses … Clemson the first year (2013), Clemson last year, Michigan State after the Big Ten championship (2013), Michigan State at home (2015), Penn State away (2016)," Price said. "A loss is a loss, and you take that hard."
Asked whether Saturday’s loss was more confusing than his previous losses at Ohio State, Price said he did not want to use that word. One word that Price did want to use, however, was a word that had become associated with the Buckeyes over the past week following their 39-38 win over Penn State: Brotherhood.
"You have to get together and get with those guys, get within that unit room, hold everybody accountable because again, we talked about last week, the brotherhood," Price said about how he would respond to Saturday’s loss. "Right now, in moments of trial and tribulation, this is where we need to be."
Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis also talked about the Buckeyes’ brotherhood, saying that the team’s senior leaders in particular "share a special bond and that bond is so special that nothing can crack us." Lewis also agreed with Price, though, that while Saturday’s loss was a tough pill to swallow, it didn’t feel worse than any of the other losses he’s experienced as a Buckeye.
"A loss is a loss to me," Lewis said. "It feels the same. It makes you sick to your stomach."
One reporter pointed out to Price that he appeared to be animated on the sideline at one juncture during the game, when the Buckeyes were already trailing 38-17, perhaps expressing dissatisfaction with what he was seeing from his teammates or coaches. Price said that was not a sign of discord, however, but that he was simply trying to send a message to the rest of his team to try to finish the game strong even though the game had gotten away from them.
"A tradition-rich program like Ohio State itself, we finish a game with class, and we don’t get in little bicker fights or little things like that that could affect us later on, so that was just to make sure that our guys stay on the same page," Price said. "Making sure that we go out there and finish the game itself, hold ourselves with class and again, you got to respect the opponent and who you’re playing."
Because Price and Lewis were the only players to meet with the media after Saturday’s game, there weren’t many other quotes from Ohio State’s perspective on the Buckeyes’ stunning blowout loss. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer’s press conference consisted almost entirely of short answers, most of which referenced his need to go back and watch the film.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and his players, on the other hand, had plenty to say after their dominant performance in a game few expected them to win.
The Hawkeyes have had an up-and-down season, having lost three of their first eight games of the year, but Iowa safety Amani Hooker – who put the Hawkeyes out front on the game’s first play from scrimmage when he intercepted a pass by Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett and returned it for a touchdown – felt Saturday’s statement made the Hawkeyes are a better team than some of their early-season performances showed.
"It shows how good we really are," Hooker said. "We let things slip away at the beginning of the season, but this shows how well we fight back being underdogs."
The Hawkeyes were underdogs entering Saturday’s game, and rightfully so in the mind of Ferentz, who said after the game that he thought highly of Meyer’s Buckeyes but felt his team did everything it needed to do to step up to the challenge.
"Just really proud of our football team," Ferentz said. "I thought it was an outstanding effort by all of our guys. We came into this game heavy underdogs, and for good reason. Ohio State is a tremendous football team. But 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. I am really proud of their effort."
Saturday was the second week in a row that an Ohio State game ended with the home crowd storming the field, but unlike the previous week, when the Buckeyes got to celebrate with their fans inside Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes were the ones being ushered off the field immediately after Saturday’s game – not even stopping to sing Carmen Ohio, as they typically do after every game – as Iowa’s fans began to run onto the field as soon as the clock hit zeroes.
Iowa had a near-capacity crowd of 67,669 on hand at Kinnick Stadium for Saturday’s game, and Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said he appreciated the energy those fans brought to help the Hawkeyes win.
"What another great environment in Kinnick. We're really fortunate and they were there start to finish," Ferentz said of Iowa’s fans. "The stadium has always been great and our fans have always been great, and they rise to the occasion."
Hawkeyes long snapper Tyler Kluver, who made one of the most unique plays of the game when he caught a pass from Iowa punter Colten Rastetter on a fake field goal, also made a point of showing his appreciation for Iowa’s home crowd in his postgame interview session.
"It’s incredible the amount of support we get," Kluver said. "Our fans are some of the best in the nation."
Price credited Iowa’s fans with creating a "hostile environment" for the Buckeyes in Saturday’s game, and said he and his team knew Kinnick Stadium – where Iowa also defeated Michigan last year and nearly defeated Penn State earlier this year – would be a tough place to play.
"We knew, Kinnick Stadium, it’s got its Kinnick curse or whatever you want to call it," Price said.
