IOWA CITY, Iowa – Ohio State kissed off the Kinnick Curse on Saturday.
Nine years ago, the Buckeyes threw an early pick-six that spiraled into a 55-24 disaster, one of many upsets that have befallen top-5 teams at Iowa.
Ohio State reversed the script on Saturday in its first trip here since then. The No. 5 Buckeyes scored a touchdown after forcing a turnover on the game’s first possession and never trailed in a 31-14 win over the No. 14 Hawkeyes.
“We’ve come out strong early in games, which is good to see, but the ability to stay focused and finish throughout four quarters was more of a challenge for us,” coach Ryan Day said. “We wanted to play 60 minutes. I felt we accomplished that goal.”
Doing so is a lot easier when you have Jeremiah Smith on your team.
Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns – his second straight 200-yard game – and broke the Ohio State record for career touchdowns and receptions. He broke the yardage record last week.
Once again, he struck a Heisman Trophy pose, which seems perfectly fitting.
“You’ve just got to (let) Heisman voters know that I’m the best player in the country,” Smith said.
It would be hard to argue.
“The first thing every coach in America is going to say is, ‘We’ve got to take this guy away,’” Day said. “The challenge is trying to figure out ways to get to him.”
Quarterback Julian Sayin has such confidence in him that he’ll even throw into triple-coverage. He did that in the second quarter on a 54-yard catch.
“I didn’t expect Julian to throw that one,” Smith said. “I was surprised he threw it, but