Ohio State easily showed why it is a top-five team in college football in week five, sadly at the expense of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes struggled in two of three phases and couldn't match the Buckeyes in the 31-14 loss. There were flashes of good things, but they weren't enough to propel Iowa to victory. After a disappointing loss, we picked two big winners and one loser before the program hits the road to Seattle for a pivotal Week Six road clash against Washington.
Winner: Jeremy Hecklinski
Hank Brown earned the starting quarterback role and looked solid through the first four weeks. The passing attack took three quarters against Michigan to get going, and Brown drove the Hawkeyes downfield and made the game-winning touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee. Week five was a completely different story, as Brown's inconsistency issues resurfaced. Brown went 12/12 against Northern Iowa and played well against Iowa State, but his consistency has since fallen off. His numbers looked good against Michigan because of a strong fourth quarter, but that masked bigger issues.
The offense was stagnant for most of the Ohio State game, with Brown struggling to find open receivers. Iowa had open receivers, and Brown either didn't find them, checked it down, or completely missed them on his throws. A shoulder injury late in the third quarter forced backup Jeremy Hecklinski in, and after waiting for another chance, he took full advantage. Hecklinski led Iowa's best and only touchdown-scoring drive of the game, and also finished a perfect 5/5 for 65 yards. While one bad performance likely won't prompt Ferentz to pull Brown, the coaching staff can rest easy if Hecklinski has to take snaps in a game.
Brown's shoulder injury will be something to monitor going forward, and Hecklinski proved he can be effective in relief. Hekclinski is a winner this week for not only his performance against Ohio State, but potentially re-igniting a starting quarterback battle if he continues playing well.
Winner: Braeden Jackson
Former walk-on Braeden Jackson has left his fingerprints all over Iowa's early success, and that continued against Ohio State. Iowa had little success in the running game beyond a few good runs, but Jackson found the end zone once again. Jackson's kick return touchdown against Michigan kept Iowa in the game early and gave them a much-needed momentum boost heading into the second half. Iowa didn't have a kick return against Ohio State, but Jackson punched the ball into the end zone after Hecklinski led the offense downfield.
Hecklinski anchored a 77-yard drive, which was Iowa's only touchdown-scoring drive of the game, with Jackson benefiting. With his rushing touchdown against the Buckeyes, Jackson now has 19 carries for 170 yards and two rushing touchdowns, 119 return yards and a kick return touchdown, and 42 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Jackson continues to force his way into the lineup with his versatility, and that's why he is a big winner this week.
Loser: the Iowa offense
Nothing went well for the Iowa offense, and multiple players could have been the losers in this game. The running game struggled again for the second straight week, tallying only 39 yards, and it wasn't helped by Brown's -14 rushing yards thanks to multiple sacks. The running game has struggled for multiple weeks, but it hurt the offense. Brown and the passing game have done enough to make up for the lack of a rushing attack, but not against Ohio State. Brown and Hecklinski combined for 199 passing yards and an interception as the offense tallied only 238 total yards.
Brown's inconsistency in the passing game and a completely absent running game doomed the Hawkeyes from the start, and their defense couldn't pick up the slack as it had in previous years. Ohio State is a very good team, but Iowa didn't execute when it mattered. The offensive line, running game, and Hank Brown were all potential losers this week, but given how poorly the offense played overall, the entire unit is the loser this week.
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