COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Emeka Egbuka caught three touchdown passes and Jeremiah Smith made another one-handed grab for the score as Ohio State faltered early before beating Iowa 35-7 on Saturday.

Quarterback Will Howard was 21 of 25 for 209 passing yards and four touchdowns and ran for 28 yards and a score as Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) cleaned up its first-half mistakes and scored 21 unanswered points the third quarter.

The Buckeyes, who had a 7-0 halftime lead, capitalized on the momentum in the second half.

Ohio State had a third-and-6 of its own at 43 when Howard threw a long ball to Smith, who had outpaced two defenders.

Smith was tackled at the Iowa 3-yard line, but that gave him a chance to really show off. On the next play he jumped into the end zone and brought in Howard’s floating pass with his right arm while keeping defender Deshaun Lee at bay with his right.

On Iowa’s next drive, quarterback Cade McNamara fumbled and linebacker Cody Simon recovered at the Iowa 19. Three players later, Howard scampered around left end for a touchdown, increasing Ohio State’s lead to 21-0.

Ohio turned a McNamara interception into a touchdown, capped by a 15-yard TD catch from Egbuka. Then McNamara fumbled the ball again, this time deep in Iowa territory, and that ultimately led to Egbuka’s third touchdown catch.

The takeaway food

Iowa: Kaleb Johnson, one of the Hawkeyes’ few reliable offensive weapons, gained more than 100 yards in each of their first four games and had 206 yards in the last game against Minnesota. Johnson had just 19 yards on eight carries in the first half and finished with 86 yards on 15 carries.

Ohio State: The defense’s best performance this season. The unit held Iowa to 226 total yards, sacked McNamara three times – he fumbled the ball on two of them – and intercepted him once.

Impact on the survey

A dominant performance against a Big Ten opponent should keep the Buckeyes in the No. 3 spot.

Next

Iowa: Host Washington next Saturday.

Ohio State: At No. 6 Oregon next Saturday night.

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