Kirk Ferentz says Jeremiah Smith “might be as good as I've seen him at this point” and calls Ohio State's talent “truly impressive”

The Buckeyes struggled with turnovers in the first half and were only able to build a 7-0 lead into the locker room, allowing Iowa to hang on. The second half took on a much different picture as Ohio State forced turnovers on each of the Hawkeyes' first three drives of the half while also converting all three takeaways into touchdowns to pull Iowa ahead by 28 points.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz recognized the turn of events in Ohio State's favor after the first half, noting that his team wasn't playing at the level needed to knock off the third-ranked Buckeyes.

“The first half probably went the way we wanted it to. Of course it would have been good to get a few points there, but being seven points behind at half-time was definitely encouraging. Things obviously didn't go according to our expectations in the second half. We gave up a drive and then three turnovers. To beat a team like that, it will be difficult to win or lose the turnover battle. In the end it was the way it went. There was some turmoil out there. Of course I thought our boys would keep playing. We should be proud of that. But the important thing is that you have to play clean football against a team like that. We didn't succeed. They also deserve recognition for this.”

A key part of Ohio State's success against the Hawkeyes was their defense's ability to slow down Iowa's star running back Kaleb Johnson. Johnson, a native of Ohio, still managed 86 yards but was held under 100 yards for the first time this season. With Johnson's productivity declining against his hometown team, Ferentz wished the Hawkeyes had been able to get him more involved in the game early in the contest.

“It wasn't perfect today, but we did some good things. Obviously it would have been better if we had moved Kaleb along a little quicker, and what the heck. But here too our opponent had something to do. There is no magic formula.”

Since Ferentz is in his 25th season as Iowa's head coach, he has faced numerous standout Ohio State teams – including two national championship-winning teams. After seeing how dominant Ohio State was, he noted that this new version of the Buckeyes has a lot of talent, but stressed that there is still a lot of football to be played this season before he can make a judgment. how they compare to previous OSU teams.

“It's like anything we all want to speculate about. But you can really judge the way things go over 12 weeks or 12 games. They observe or look at their talent and evaluate it. It's really impressive. You are a veteran up front. The receivers are really good players and (Jeremiah Smith) might be as good as I've seen at this point. And then two good running backs and the quarterback did a really good job. I think it was a really good fit for them to bring him here. So when you look at them, they can run the ball, they can throw it. You have a good plan. (Offensive coordinator Chip) Kelly is doing a great job and I know (Ryan Day) is a part of that too. So they are a good football team. But you have to play through the season. You never know what’s going to happen.”