Coming off a thrilling victory against Michigan, Iowa came crashing back to earth against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes outplayed the Hawkeyes on both sides of the ball and led the entire game. The offense gained only 238 total yards, while the defense allowed 484. After two consecutive poor performances, Kirk Ferentz and the program are back to the drawing board before they head to Seattle to face Washington on a short week. Another major postgame concern was injuries to three Hawkeye starters, but luckily, they aren't expected to be serious.
Iowa got some good news regarding three injured starters against Ohio State
If everything wasn't bad enough against Ohio State, three crucial starters went out with injuries. Hank Brown, Deshaun Lee, and Zach Lutmer all left the game with injuries, but Ferentz didn't seem too worried about them postgame.
“I don’t think anything too major” on Hank Brown and “cramping” for Zach Lutmer and Deshaun Lee, per Kirk Ferentz.
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) October 3, 2026
Ferentz was vague when asked about the status of all three injured starters, but his initial response is encouraging. Lee and Lutmer's injuries were called "cramps," while Brown's injury isn't anything "too major." All three have been crucial to Iowa's early success, and losing them would be a big blow. The most interesting injury was to Brown, who was getting beat up all day and was injured late in the third quarter when he was shoved out of bounds. Ohio State got away with multiple late hits out of bounds that weren't called, but this one forced backup Jeremy Hecklinski into the game.
Iowa struggled on offense all game, but had its best offensive drive when Hecklinski entered in relief. Hecklinski took the offense downfield and led the team's only touchdown in the 31-14 loss, prompting multiple people to reignite the starting quarterback debate. The offense has been stagnant for three weeks with Brown under center, and while making a quarterback switch won't fix all of the issues, everything has to be on the table. In two Big Ten Conference games, Iowa's offense averaged 261.5 total yards, which can't continue.
The run game has been especially bad, putting up 97 total yards over the last two games, and something has to change. The defense has also been lit up in back-to-back games, and the unit needs guys like Lee and Lutmer to step up and get it back to where it needs to be. Giving up over 400 yards of total offense is something we never thought we would see under Phil Parker, and Iowa's schedule isn't getting easier. A short week will be a big test of Iowa's mental fortitude, and luckily, three injured starters shouldn't miss time. Ferentz will likely give more details in his weekly press conference, but the early diagnosis is promising.
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