Nobody in their right mind expected the Iowa Hawkeyes to go into Columbus and escape with a win last week. Nobody. Few people thought the Hawkeyes would even cover the enormous 30-point spread Vegas settled on before game time. So why did it feel so bad watching the Hawkeyes do exactly what we all expected and get absolutely trounced by perhaps the best team in the country?
The answer, like that to almost every question so far this season, is the offense. We knew it was bad, but we reached new lows on Saturday. For the second time this year, the Hawkeyes recorded fewer than 200 total yards.