It took 30 minutes of gameplay for Ohio State's offense to solve the enigma of Iowa's defense. Once solved, the Buckeyes set a program record by defeating their sixth straight opponent by 29 or more points. With Ryan Day's team in control during the second half, 10 freshmen were rewarded with playing time in Ohio State's 54-10 beatdown of Iowa.
Curry takes down the punter
Trailing 13-7 and facing 4th-and-6 from his own 30, Kirk Ferentz sent Iowa's punt team onto the field. Tony Taylor received the snap and rolled right to punt the ball away. When the punter gave a quick glance down the field, he spotted an open field and decided to run for the first down.
Mistake. Big mistake.
Caden Curry, Xavier Johnson and Lathan Ransom spotted Taylor trying to make a play and made him pay. All three players converged on Iowa's punter and Curry buried him into Ohio Stadium's synthetic turf. The Buckeyes took over at the Hawkeyes' 34-yard line and six plays later extended the lead to 16-7.
Curry had his busiest day wearing a scarlet and gray jersey. The freshman from Indiana finished with three tackles, assisted on a sack and took 10 snaps on defense. He was also on the field for every kickoff, kickoff return and Ohio State field goal/PAT attempt. The young man might be in need of another bye week.
Caden Curry was ready for it. pic.twitter.com/yCS1kissjj
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 22, 2022
Stokes’ strip
A freshman Buckeye forced a fumble for a second straight game. After Jyaire Brown did so against Michigan State, Kye Stokes dispossessed the ball from Iowa's Kaleb Johnson in Saturday’s fourth quarter. Palaie Gaoteote IV pounced on the ball at the Ohio State 44-yard line for his second fumble recovery of the year.
Stokes recorded his forced fumble on one of a season-high four tackles. The safety from Florida's Armwood High School was also on the kickoff, punt and punt return teams against Iowa.
Let's get defensive
Jyaire Brown, C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles also etched their name on the stat sheet. Hicks made two tackles, doubling his season total to four, with both of his tackles coming in kickoff coverage.
Brown and Styles combined for three tackles against Iowa and together have 13 tackles over 12 games played.
Kaleb's first catch
Through six games, Kaleb Brown had played in four games and was on the field for 19 offensive snaps without a reception. The goose egg next to his name went away during Ohio State's second-to-last offensive possession against Iowa.
The Buckeyes faced a third down in which they needed six yards to extend the drive. Kyle McCord found Brown on a middle screen and the speedy receiver appeared to pick up the first down with his first career catch. A questionable spot marked Brown with a five-yard reception and the Buckeyes were forced to punt.
Brown played in his fifth game of the season Saturday, shedding his redshirt.
Rest of the class
Kojo Antwi played five offensive snaps and was on the punt team.
Jayden Fielding had five touchbacks on 11 kickoffs.
Kyion Grayes took five offensive snaps in the second game of his career.
Dallan Hayden gained five yards on two carries over three offensive snaps.
Under the NCAA's redshirt rules, a player can appear in up to four games at any point throughout the season and still count it as his redshirt year. Through the sixth game of the 2022 season, 18 of Ohio State's 21 scholarship true freshmen have seen the field, with seven – J. Brown, K. Brown, Curry, Hayden, Hicks, Stokes and Styles – now ineligible for a redshirt as they have appeared in five or more games. Fielding, who is not on scholarship, has also burned his redshirt by playing in seven games.
| NAME | POS | DEBUT | IOWA STATS | GP | SEASON STATS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADEN CURRY | DE | Notre Dame | 3 tackles, 0.5 sack | 7 | 11 tackles, 1.5 TFL (6 yards), 0.5 sack |
| JAYDEN FIELDING | K | Notre Dame | 11 kickoffs, 5 touchbacks | 7 | 60 kickoffs, 26 touchbacks |
| JYAIRE BROWN | CB | Arkansas State | 2 tackles | 6 | 6 tackles, 1 FF, 1 PBU |
| DALLAN HAYDEN | RB | Arkansas State | 2 rushes, 5 yards | 6 | 54 rushes, 255 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 13 yards |
| C.J. HICKS | LB | Arkansas State | 2 tackles | 6 | 4 tackles |
| KYE STOKES | S | Arkansas State | 4 tackles, 1 FF | 6 | 9 tackles, 1 TFL (4 yards), 1 FF |
| SONNY STYLES | S | Arkansas State | 1 tackle | 6 | 7 tackles, 1 TFL (2 yards) |
| KALEB BROWN | WR | Toledo | 1 catch, 5 yards | 5 | 1 catch, 5 yards |
| KOJO ANTWI | WR | Toledo | 5 offensive snaps | 4 | 13 offensive snaps |
| KYION GRAYES | WR | Toledo | 5 offensive snaps | 2 | 1 catch, 2 yards |
| RYAN TURNER | CB | Toledo | 4 | 1 tackle, 1 sack (6 yards), 1 TFL (6 yards) | |
| TEGRA TSHABOLA | OL | Arkansas State | 4 | 52 offensive snaps | |
| KENYATTA JACKSON | DE | Arkansas State | 3 | 2 tackles, 1 TFL (1 yard) | |
| HERO KANU | DT | Arkansas State | 3 | 19 defensive snaps | |
| DEVIN BROWN | QB | Toledo | 2 | 1 rush, 1 yard | |
| TC CAFFEY | RB | Toledo | 2 | 10 rushes, 66 yards, 1 TD | |
| BENNETT CHRISTIAN | TE | Toledo | 2 | 11 offensive snaps | |
| GABE POWERS | LB | Toledo | 2 | Special team snaps | |
| OMARI ABOR | DE | Arkansas State | Unavailable (knee injury) | 1 | |
| CALEB BURTON | WR | ||||
| GEORGE FITZPATRICK | OT | ||||
| AVERY HENRY | OL | ||||
| CARSON HINZMAN | OL |
(Note: The table does not include freshman walk-ons who have not yet played.)
- #2 Ohio State 54, Iowa 10
- • Buckeyes Crush Hawkeyes, 54-10
- • Big Plays on D Doom Dreadful Iowa Offense
- • Dominance Despite Some Offensive Struggles
- • JSN's "Pitch Count" Caused Early Iowa Exit
- • Ohio State Postgame • Notebook • Quotebook • Debriefing
- • Iowa Postgame • TBDBITL • Social Reax • 3 Key Stats • Five Things
