Like the sod surrounding the San Andreas fault line, Ohio State’s ground game received a test on Saturday.
Iowa entered the contest with the No. 4 rushing defense and the No. 10 rushing offense in college football. The Buckeyes were No. 3 and No. 15 in those same categories but had faced three non-conference Group of Five teams and a Michigan State squad that weren’t exactly causing any earthquakes pounding the rock or stopping it.
“That was the challenge coming in,” Ryan Day said. “We said, ‘60 minutes of inside drill’ and figure out where we are running the ball and stopping the run.