No. 5 Buckeyes Set to Go on the Road at No. 14 Iowa
9/28/2026 2:37:00 PM | Football
Saturday’s matchup at No. 14 Iowa is set to kickoff in Iowa City at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday with the game airing on CBS.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 5 Ohio State football team is set for its first Big Ten road game of the season, traveling to Iowa City, Iowa to face No. 14 Iowa on Saturday.Â
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.Â
SETTING THE SCENEÂ
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.Â
SETTING THE SCENEÂ
- The Buckeyes are 993-338-53 all-time in program history and have the highest winning percentage in college football history (.737 pct.).Â
- Ohio State's 276 wins overall since 2000 are two more than any other program in the country.Â
- This marks just the third time that Ohio State has played Iowa in the Day era, winning 54-10 in 2022 and 35-7 in 2024.Â
- The Buckeyes are looking for their 49th win in the series holding a 48-15-3 record all-time.Â
- Saturday's game marked the 70th time that Ohio State is featured in the College Gameday matchup, the most out of any team in the country. Additionally, this marks the second time this year that Ohio State will be a team featured in the College Gameday matchup.Â
- Additionally, this is the 26th time the Buckeyes have played in a road game for College Gameday. Â Â
- Ohio State holds an overall record of 48-21 all-time in College Gameday Games:Â Â
- Home: 20-6 Â Â
- Road: 17-8 Â Â
- Neutral: 11-7Â
- Since entering college football in 2024, Jeremiah Smith leads all players in receptions (196), receiving yds (3,175) and receiving TDs (34).Â
- In the first four games, Smith had 33 catches for 617 yds and seven touchdowns. He has played 12 quarters this season, averaging 2.75 catches, 54.2 yds and 0.58 touchdowns per quarter. That pace puts him at 121 catches, 2,385 yds and 26 touchdowns in a 12-game season.Â
- Smith goes into Saturday needing 10 receptions and two touchdowns to break all three Ohio State receiving records.Â
- He's tied for fifth in conference history with 34 career touchdown receptions and needs six to become the Big Ten leader.Â
- Smith also now needs 614 yards to break the Big Ten record for receiving yards.Â
- In Saturday's game vs. Illinois, Smith finished the game with new career highs – 12 receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns, tying the program record for touchdown receptions in a game. Smith's 123 receiving yards in the first quarter was the most by any player in a Big Ten game over the last 20 seasons. Â
- Smith — who had eight catches for 150 yards and three TDs in the first half vs. Illinois — also became the third receiver since 2015 from a Power Four conference to have at least three games with at least 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns in one half. DeVonta Smith had four at Alabama and Ja'Marr Chase did it three times at LSU. Â
- With the performance, Smith now leads the nation with 617 receiving yards this season, is tied for the nation's lead with seven touchdown receptions and ranks fourth nationally with 33 receptions.Â
- Julian Sayin is the most accurate quarterback in program history with a career completion percentage of 75.1 pct. which also would be an NCAA record (min. 875 attempts).Â
- On Saturday, Sayin finished the game vs. Illinois going 27-of-36 for 367 yards and four passing touchdowns and adding a rushing touchdown.Â
- Saturday marked the eighth 300-yard passing game in Sayin's career which is tied for third in Ohio State history.Â
- So far this season, Sayin has completed 82-of-116 passes for 1,206 yards and 10 passing touchdowns.Â
- Additionally, Sayin has thrown for 43 career passing touchdowns in his Ohio State career which ranks 10th in program history.Â
- Sayin ranks 14th on the Ohio State all-time passing list with 4,900 yards.Â
- Iowa will be head coach Ryan Day's 62nd Big Ten game in his tenure as head coach (win vs. Rutgers as acting head coach in 2018 included). Â
- Day's Buckeyes are 56-5 in the previous 61 Big Ten game including a 27-3 record in road Big Ten games. Additionally, Ohio State is 15-4 against opponents who were ranked in Big Ten play during his tenure.Â
- Day's teams are 22-1 in the month of October and 7-1 against ranked opponents during the month. Additionally, Ohio State is 10-1 in road October contests.Â
- Under Day's direction since the start of the 2019 season, Ohio State has a 28-4 (.875) away record, ranking second in FBS in wins and win percentage.Â
- In Day's 61-game Big Ten tenure, Ohio State has averaged 40.0 points per game while allowing just 15.1 points per game to their opponents.Â
- The Hawkeyes are 4-0 for the first time since 2021 and for the seventh time under Ferentz. Â
- Wide receiver Reece Vander Zee had a 16-yard reception as time expired to give Iowa a 20-19 road win at Michigan in Week 4. It was the Hawkeyes' first walk-off touchdown since 2009 (Marvin McNutt, Jr., at Michigan State).Â
- Iowa's road win at No. 18 Michigan was its first Big Ten ranked road victory since 2015. The win snapped Michigan's 58-game home winning streak when leading at halftime, which was the second-longest streak nationally.Â
- Quarterback Hank Brown completed 13-of-19 attempts for 142 yards and two TDs in the fourth quarter in the come-from-behind win at No. 18 Michigan in his first career road start. He was 4-of-6 on third down. Â
- Brown, who has completed 68 percent of his attempts in 2026, was named to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 List for Week 4.Â
- Brown has yet to have a turnover through the first four games of the season.Â
- Iowa's defense has posted two shutouts – Week 1 vs. NIU (40-0), Week 3 vs. UNI (55-0). Â
- The Hawkeyes are the only team in the country to have multiple 40-point shutouts in 2026. Â
- The unit is leading the nation in scoring defense (8.0 points) and is 10th in total defense (239.8 yards per game). The unit has allowed three touchdowns in four games (16 quarters) this season.Â
- The defense has forced a punt on the opponent's opening possession in each of the last 10 games dating back to the 2025 season. Â
- Iowa has sold out 31 consecutive games in Kinnick Stadium.Â
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