If there were any concerns about the Ohio State offense, those needless worries can finally be put to rest.

Quarterback Troy Smith rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, and added 191 yards passing with two more scores to lead the eighth-ranked Buckeyes to a 31-6 pasting of the 21st-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes before 105,225 fans at Ohio Stadium, Saturday afternoon.

Another rising star in the OSU backfield, tailback Antonio Pittman, gained 171 yards rushing on 28 carries. The two 100-yard games by Pittman and Smith marks the first time since 1976 Ohio State had a 100-yard rusher at quarterback and running back in the same game. The last time Ohio State accomplished that feat was against Michigan State Sept. 11, 1976 in Ohio Stadium when quarterback Rod Gerald had 104 yards and running back Jeff Logan went for 112.

While the offense was firing on all cylinders, it was the defense that limiting Iowa to a season-low 137 yards. The Hawkeyes were held to minus 9 yards in 18 rushing attempts. It was the first time Ohio State has held a team to negative rushing yardage since 2003 against Indiana, when the Buckeyes limited the Hoosiers to -12 yards on 32 attempts.

Not only was the rushing defense in its’ prime, but it was the pass rush that harassed Iowa quarterback Drew Tate all game. The Buckeyes had five sacks Saturday, upping their season total to 16 through four games. The Buckeyes had 24 sacks last season. The five sacks tied a season-high. The Buckeyes had five sacks in the season opener vs. Miami.

Leading the way was senior linebacker A.J. Hawk, who recorded a team-high 11 total tackles and 1 1/2 sacks against Iowa. Hawk has led the Buckeyes in tackles in all four games this season, and is the Big Ten leader in sacks.

“The biggest thing today was the great job the defense did. Our coaches put us in the right positions and we knew after last week we wanted to play well. We wanted to come out and jump on them early–and I think we did,” Hawk said following the game.

After Iowa had won the toss and elected to receive, the Buckeyes defense held firm as they limited the Hawkeyes to just five plays and 11 yards before forcing them to punt. This drive, and after the next seven possessions by the Hawkeyes would all end with a punt.

The Buckeyes’ would start their first possession of the game at their own 19-yard line, and the opening drive covered 81 yards in 15 plays, capped off when Smith threw a bullet to sophomore flanker Anthony Gonzalez for an 8-yard strike with 7:43 left in the first quarter.

The drive marked the longest drive of the season and tied for the most plays in a single drive this season. The drive is the third of the season for the Buckeyes of 80 yards or more.

After both teams traded punts back and forth, Ohio State would get the ball for their third possession of the game at the Buckeyes’ 19-yard line with 1:41 remaining in the opening stanza. Six plays and 81 yards later, Smith rush through the left side of the Iowa defense from the shotgun formation and hit paydirt just 30 seconds into the second quarter that pushed the OSU lead to 14-0.

If there are any problems with the Buckeye’ offense, then it would have to be the tendency to put the ball on the ground. The next two possession by Ohio State ended with fumbles inside the Iowa 5-yard line.

Just under the 11-minute mark left in the first half, Brandon Schnittker coughed up the pigskin trying to gain extra yards on a running play. It was recovered by defensive back Marcus Paschal, whho returned it all the way to the Iowa 40-yard line. A personal foul penalty added 14 more yards to give the Hawkeyes’ the ball inside OSU territory.

After two sacks and running play that netted a minus-2 yards, the Hawkeyes were forced to punt once again.

Starting at the OSU 16-yard line, the Buckeyes would drive down to the Iowa 13. On a second-and-5 play, Smith rushed over the left guard and gained nine yards before being hit by Iowa’s Mitch King and the lose ball was recovered by Jovon Johnson.

The Ohio State forced the Iowa offense to another three-and-out as the Hawkeyes were forced to punt from the end zone. The kicked traveled to the OSU 47-yard line that was fielded by Ted Ginn Jr. who darted through coverage and down the right side into the end zone, but the touchdown was negated by a illegal block in the back penalty on the Buckeyes.

After two fumbles inside the five-yard line, and a punt returned for touchdown that was called back due to a penalty, the Buckeyes could of been ahead 35-0. Ohio State started the next drive on their own 39-yard line with 1:47 left to play in the first half follwoing the blocking infraction.

Driving 31 yards in seven plays, the Buckeyes’ settled on a 47-yard field goal as time expired to give OSU a 17-0 lead at the halftime break.

Since Iowa elected to receive to start the game, the Buckeyes’ had the ball to start the second half. And it didn’t take long for Ohio State to put the game out of reach.

The Buckeyes’ started the opening drive of the second half aat the OSU 22-yard line and marched 78 yards in 10 plays, that even included a 10-yard gain by Pittman on the “Statue of Liberty” play. The drive was capped off on a four-yard run by Smith from the shotgun formation, and OSU was well in front with 9:59 left in the third quarter leading 24-0.

Both teams traded punts before Iowa avoided the shutout, scoring on a 52-yard field goal by Kyle Schlicher.

Key play of the drive was on a third-and-3 from the OSU 16-yard line. Tate went back to pass and was sacked by Hawk for a loss of 13 yards on the play. Afterwards, Tate slammed the ball into the ground and penalty flags went flying, but not for unsportsmanlike conduct that would of moved Iowa out of field goal range, but a 5-yard penalty for delay of game.

On the next possession for Iowa, after getting the ball in prime real estate when OSU punter A.J. Trapasso mishandled the snap, the Hawkeyes would start out at the OSU 31-yard line. But Iowa could only managed to get 11 yards on six plays and settled for a 37-yard field goal by Schlicher.

Later in the fourth quarter following an interception of a Tate pass by OSU cornerback Donte Whitner, his second interception of the season and fifth of his career, the Buckeyes’ set up shop at the Iowa 40-yard line. Just four plays later, Smith hit Gonzalez on a crossing route for a gain of 29 yards and a touchdown as Ohio State went ahead 31-6 that would be the final score.

The Buckeyes are idle next week as they prepare to play the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 8 at State College. Game time at Beaver Stadium will be wither 7:00 or 7:45 pm.

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Ohio State opens its 93rd season of Big Ten play Saturday by hosting defending conference co-champion Iowa. Kickoff is set for 12:10 p.m. in sold out Ohio Stadium, where the Buckeyes have an all-time record of 357-102-20.

Both teams enter the game with 2-1 records and both bounced back last week to record wins following disappointing losses the week before.

Eighth-ranked Ohio State, a 25-22 victim of No. 2 Texas two weeks ago, got back on the winning track Saturday by shutting down visiting San Diego State, 27-6. The Aztecs scored on their first play of the game, going 80 yards to take a quick 6-0 lead, but did not score again against the stout OSU defense which surrendered just 99 yards the rest of the day. Other than the scoring play, SDSU had just one play inside Ohio State territory.

Iowa, felled 23-3 by in-state rival Iowa State two weeks ago on the Cyclones’ home turf, took out its angst on Northern Iowa this past week by rolling up 496 yards and coasting to a 45-21 victory.

The 21st-ranked Hawkeyes shared the Big Ten title with Michigan last year with a 7-1 league record and closed out the season by winning their last seven conference games.

The Buckeyes won four of their last five Big Ten encounters a year ago, including a 37-21 win over Michigan, the only conference team to beat Iowa in 2004.

This will be the 59th meeting between Iowa and Ohio State dating back to 1922. Ohio State leads the overall series, 42-13-3, including a 26-8-1 edge in games played in Columbus.

Iowa recorded a 33-7 victory last year in Iowa City, snapping Ohio State’s eight-game mastery over the Hawks. Drew Tate threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Hawkeyes handed the Buckeyes their third straight defeat. Troy Smith’s 23-yard pass to Rory Nicol with 2:19 left in the game accounted for the only OSU score. Smith entered the game in the third quarter when starter Justin Zwick went out with a shoulder injury.

The host Hawkeyes, who led just 10-0 at the half, outgained the Buckeyes 448 to 177 in total yards. Smith would go on to start the remainder of the regular season and lead the Buckeyes to a 4-1 record down the stretch.

The Buckeyes have won four straight in Columbus, last losing at home to Iowa in 1991 by a score of 16-9. Last year’s Iowa win represents the largest margin of victory in the series for the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes recorded an 83-21 victory in 1950 and more recently a 45-14 triumph in 1998.

Former Ohio State standout Jack Tatum will serve as the honorary captain this week.

ABC will televise the game to approximately 50 percent of the country and WBNS Radio will broadcast the contest around the state on the 73-station Ohio State network.

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Iowa got back in the win column last Saturday with a 45-21 victory over Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes opened the season with a 56-0 home win over Ball State before dropping a 23-3 contest to in-state rival Iowa State.

In their first three games, Iowa is averaging 34.7 points and 428.0 yards of offense per game. The Hawkeyes have a balanced offense, averaging 215.0 yards on the ground and 213 yards through the air.

Quarterback Drew Tate has played in all three games, but went down early against Iowa State after being sidelined with a concussion. He has completed 29-of-39 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. He has been picked off once. Three receivers have at least 100 yards receiving. Clinton Solomon has eight catches for 154 yards and three scores, while Ed Hinkel has 10 catches for 104 yards and Scott Chandler has 10 catches for 102 yards. Albert Young has 36 carries for 298 yards and three scores.

Defensively, Iowa is limiting opponents to 14.7 points and 278.3 yards per game, limiting opponents to 108.3 yards rushing and 170.0 yards receiving. Opponents have scored just one rushing touchdown compared to four by the pass. Chad Greenway leads the team with 35 tackles, including 22 solo stops. He has two tackles-for-loss. Abdul Hodge is second on the team with 27 tackles and has two tackles-for-loss and one sack. Mitch King, third on the team with 16 tackles, has six tackles-for-loss, while Mike Follett paces the Hawkeyes with three of the team’s eight sacks. The unit has two interceptions and has recovered two fumbles in the first three games.

After opening the Big Ten slate this week vs. Ohio State, the Hawkeyes will host Illinois, go to Purdue, return home for games against Indiana and Michigan before road contests at Northwestern and Wisconsin. Iowa, which does not play Michigan State or Penn State this year, closes out the regular season at home vs. Minnesota.

IOWA’S LAST GAME
Quarterback Drew Tate returned from a concussion to throw two touchdown passes and running back Albert Young scored two of his own as Iowa ran its home win streak to 20 games with a 45-21 victory over Northern Iowa last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes led 31-7 at the half as five of their first six drives ended in a score. They scored a touchdown in each of the third and fourth quarters. Iowa ran for 231 yards of its 496 total yards on offense, but allowed 368 yards by UNI though limited the Panthers to 105 rushing yards. Tate was 15-for-18 for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

COACH KIRK FERENTZ
Kirk Ferentz (Connecticut, 1978) is in his seventh season at Iowa and carries a 44-32 record with the Hawkeyes. Now in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach, Ferentz is 56-53. He is 27-21 in Big Ten games. Under his direction, Iowa has compiled a 31-7 over the last three seasons, winning at least 10 games each year and sharing the Big Ten title in 2002 and 2004. The Hawkeyes were 11-2 in 2002, 10-3 in 2003 and 10-2 last season. The Hawkeyes have appeared in four straight bowl games winning three of the four. Ferentz joined the Iowa staff after a six-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens/Cleveland Browns. He coached three seasons at Maine from 1990-92 where he was 12-21. He was an assistant under longtime Iowa coach Hayden Fry at Iowa from 1981-89.

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Newly-appointed starting quarterback Troy Smith threw for 149 yards and ran for another 87 while the defense held the opposition to just three first downs as the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 27-6 in front a somber crowd 104,533 at Ohio Stadium, Saturday afternoon.

After Ohio State won the coin toss and differed to the second half, it did not take long for the Aztecs to get on the scoreboard. In fact, it took just 11 seconds. After Josh Huston’s kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback, Aztec’ quarterback Kevin O’Connell connected with Brett Swain on a quick screen pass that turned into an 80-yard touchdown to give San Diego State an early 6-0 lead after the PAT failed.

That was the lone highlight for the Aztec’ offense the rest of the game, as the Buckeyes’ defense woke up from their slumber and stuffed anything and everything that came their way wearing a white jersey.

For the next 59 minutes and 49 seconds, the OSU defense held the Aztecs to just two first downs and 86 yards of total offense, including a measly 13 yards rushing. SDSU tailback Lynell Hamilton, who came into the contest averaging 73.5 yards, led the Aztecs in rushing with seven carries for 10 yards.

After opening-play touchdown, the Aztecs never made it back into Buckeye’ territory. The closest the Aztecs came to the midfield stripe was in the third quarter when they drove 20 yards in five plays. On third-and-9 at the SDSU 49 yard line, O’Connell was sacked by defensive end Mike Kudla, who singlehandedly collapsed the pocket to get to the quarterback for a loss of two yards on the play which forced a punt.

Later in the first quarter, Santonio Holmes fielded a punt by the Aztecs’ Michael Hughes at the OSU 30 yard line, and raced 35 yards down to the SDSU 35. Helped by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Aztecs, the Buckeyes would start their drive just a mere 20 yards from the goal line.

Soon thereafter, Ohio State reached paydirt as Smith scampered from the shotgun formation on a third-and-4 from the 14 yard line sprinted through the right side of a porous Aztec’ defense for the touchdown. Huston converted the extra point that gave the Buckeyes a 7-6 lead and never look back, sort of.

On Ohio State’s first possession of the second quarter, the Buckeyes would drive 75 yards in eight plays. On a first-and-goal from the Aztec one-yard line, running back Brandon Schnittker coughed up the pigskin trying to plow in for the score and it was recovered by SDSU’s Donny Baker.

Following the turnover, the Silver Bullet defense held the Aztecs’ to a three-and-out, forcing SDSU to punt in the shadows of the goal post. After a nice return by Holmes, the Buckeyes set up shop at the SDSU 32 yard line with 8:42 remaining in the second quarter. Eight plays later, Smith punched it in from a yard out on a quarterback sneak and OSU went ahead 14-6 with just over five minutes left in the first half.

On that short scoring drive, Smith accounted for 21 of the 32 yards with his legs on four carries. On the lone passing attempt during the drive, Smith found tight end Ryan Hamby on a crossing route that would of been a touchdown if it had not been dropped.

The Buckeyes kicked a field goal on their first possession after intermission. Huston connected from 25 yards out to give Ohio State a 17-6 lead with 9:33 to play. OSU marched 62 yards in 13 plays, consuming 5:22 off the clock.

Michael Franklin took a 49-yard boot by OSU punter A.J. Trapasso at the SDSU 13-yard line and did not gain any yardage on the return it as time expired in the third quarter. But, a holding penalty on San Diego State meant the quarter could not end. On the free play, O’Connell kept the ball and turned to his right, hesitated then fumbled on the option pitch was recovered by OSU linebacker Anthony Schlegel just inside the 1-yard line. Tailback Brandon Schnittker took the ball 1 yard for the score to give Ohio State a 24-6 lead with 14:58 to play in the fourth quarter.

San Diego State punted after a three-and-out and Ohio State took over on the SDSU 43-yard line following a 17-yard return by Ted Ginn Jr. Ohio State moved 21 yards on six plays before Huston made the score 27-6 with a 39-yard field goal with 5:55 left in the game.

Smith led the Buckeyes in rushing with 87 yards on 14 carries. He also threw for 149 yards, going 14-for-26. Roy Hall and Santonio Holmes each had four receptions, with Hall getting 44 yards and Holmes totaling 42.

Up next, the Buckeyes look to avenge last year’s 33-7 loss to Iowa as the Hawkeyes travel to Columbus for a high-noon showdown at Ohio Stadium.

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San Diego State head coach Tom Craft realizes his team faces an enormous challenge against the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, with one of the best defenses in the nation. His 0-2 team features an offense that played nine freshman and three sophomores that lost last week to Air Force 41-29.

“In my 29 years of coaching, this is one of the best, if not the best, defense I’ve ever seen,” said Craft, whose team will visit the Buckeyes on Saturday. “We have to play faster to be able to neutralize their speed. The (defense) they had when we went back there two years ago was good, but this one looks faster. It has so many moving parts. They’re really good, ” Craft said this week.

The Aztecs, who trailed by 14 points in the third quarter, rallied to within five points with less than 10 minutes to play in the game. But on the ensuing drive, Air Force was able to convert on third down plays en route to an 81-yard touchdown drive to secure the victory.

For the second straight game, San Diego State had an edge in first downs (26-25) and compiled 417 yards of total offense, but the defense yielded a whopping 503 yards and was unable to come away with the victory.

The Aztecs struck first when sophomore quarterback Kevin O’Connell capped a 6-play, 64-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown dive to give SDSU a 7-0 lead. San Diego State increased the lead as sophomore defensive end Antwan Applewhite stripped the ball and recovered a fumble and sophomore placekicker Garrett Palmer converted the first of three SDSU field goals to make it a 10-0 game.

The Falcons scored three second-quarter touchdowns, all on the ground. Jacobe Kendrick rushed in from one-yard and five yards out and Shaun Carney carried in from 11 yards out to put the Academy up 21-10. The Aztecs cut the deficit to 20-13 with a 29-yard Palmer field goal with eight seconds to go prior to halftime.

Air Force stretched the lead to 27-13 when Carney scrambled out of the pocket and found Robert McMenomy for a 38-yard reception.

The Aztecs battled back, driving 50 yards and getting a 47-yard Palmer field goal late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, senior Robert Ortiz caught a 12-yard pass from O’Connell to pull the Aztecs to within 27-22. The Falcons long scoring drive of 81 yards ensured SDSU would get no closer.

Another problem is turnovers for the Aztecs, who face going 0-3 for the second straight season. San Diego State has a given the ball up four more times than they have taken it away in just two games. That ranks them 101 out of 119 Division I-A teams in turnover margin.

This is the third meeting between Ohio State and San Diego State, with the Buckeyes having claimed the first two games in the series. Both games in the series took place in Columbus, with the Buckeye winning 27-12 on Oct. 20, 2001 (a game moved from Sept. 15 due to the tragic events of Sept. 11) and 16-13 on Sept. 9, 2003.

Sophomore Kevin O’Connell, who started the final five games of 2004 season, emerged from a quarterback duel with freshman Darren Mougey and was named the Aztecs’ starting quarterback. O’Connell played in nine games as a redshirt freshman, and started the final five games of the campaign. For the season, he passed for 1,328 yards and the dual-threat quarterback added 347 rushing yards.

So far through two games this year, O’Connell is 43-of-65 for 431 yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Lynell Hamilton, a 6-1, 220 pound running back, had his sensational freshman season ended prematurely by a broken ankle in the fourth quarter of the 10th game of the year at UNLV with two games remaining on the Aztec schedule. He was second in the Mountain West Conference with 108.7 rushing yards per game, and finished with 1,087 yards, the 11th best total in Aztec history, as he also produced the best rookie season by an Aztec since Marshall Faulk.

Hamilton was named a first-team freshman All-American by Rivals.com and The Sporting News, as well as the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year. Spent the 2004 season on the redshirt list as he continued to recover from the broken ankle that ended his rookie season.

Hamilton rushed 15 times for 65 yards and scored on a three-yard touchdown run against Air Force, and also caught two passes for 19 yards.

In his first action since November of 2003, Hamilton carried the ball 24 times for 82 yards against UCLA, while scoring a pair of one-yard touchdowns. He had a team game high with five receptions for 35 yards.

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