As we get deeper into the offseason, the competition gets tougher in our week-by-week early preview of the Iowa Hawkeyes 2024 football season.
Week 5 proves to be one of Iowa's biggest challenges of the season as the Hawkeyes will travel to Columbus for the second-straight season to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.
These teams have traded blowout victories in their two most recent meetings. Iowa crushed Ohio State in 2017 55-24, one of the worst losses in Buckeyes program history. Ohio State returned the favor last year by striking back with a 54-10 win over the Black and Gold.
The Buckeyes have been one of Iowa's biggest bullies in the all-time series. Ohio State is up 47-15-3 against Iowa in series history, often winning by large margins.
Despite question marks at quarterback and head coach Ryan Day's future with the program somewhat in doubt, the Buckeyes boast one of the most talented rosters in all of college football. Ohio State is returning 15 starters, after all. They figure to be one of the favorites to not only win the Big Ten but the College Football Playoff National Championship as well.
While Day is still sorting out who his starting quarterback is between five promising options, whoever he chooses will be surrounded by a strong supporting cast.
TreVeyon Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins are set to be the most dangerous rushing duo in the nation. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have one more elite wide receiver to lean on with Emeka Egbuka looking for a true breakout season.
Josh Fryar, Donovan Jackson, and Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin lead one of college football's most talented and experienced offensive lines too.
Frustratingly for the rest of the college football world, the Buckeyes should be even stronger on the defensive side of the ball.
JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer are elite pass rushers who will terrorize opposing quarterbacks while Alabama transfer Caleb Downs patrols the defensive backfield. Talented cornerbacks Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Davison Igbinosun all return to the lineup too.
Eight of Ohio State's returning starters are on defense, and last year they were dominant, allowing just 11.2 points per game - the second-best mark in the country in 2023.
Both teams will likely come into this game undefeated, looking for an emphatic win to stay on top of the new-look Big Ten. While the Buckeyes are more talented on paper, as they usually are, it is still a winnable game for Iowa.
After all, Iowa will field one of the Big Ten's best defenses. Drawing Ohio State early while they are still sorting through the quarterback position will be an advantage for the Hawkeyes they'll need to capitalize on. As an added bonus, the Hawkeyes will have an extra week to prepare while Ohio State will be dealing with Michigan State.
It could be a race to 17 to determine the winner. But if recent meetings are anything to go by, it could get ugly once one of these teams do reach that number on the scoreboard.
The game is set for October 5 with kickoff time and television and streaming channels to be announced at a later date.
You can check out last week's early preview against Minnesota here.
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