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Perfect.
That’s the only word that can be used to describe Iowa’s performance Saturday afternoon against No. 6 Ohio State. From the first play of the game — Amani Hooker’s pick-six — to Toren Young’s six-yard touchdown run with 1:43 left, the Hawkeyes were flawless. The 55-24 final score will serve as a reminder of the night when everything went right for Kirk Ferentz and Co.
One play in particular, a two-yard touchdown pass from Nate Stanley to T.J. Hockenson late in the third quarter, encapsulated the kind of day the Hawkeyes were having. Stanley, with an Ohio State defensive lineman draped around his ankle, stood in the pocket, stepped into his throw and delivered a perfect pass to the back of the end zone.
Iowa took a 38-17 lead after the score. At that point, it was fate.
Nate Stanley stood in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass.
While dragging an Ohio State D-Lineman. pic.twitter.com/xpTEBRwlIW
— Dustin Schutte (@Schutte_B1GFB) November 4, 2017
It was football nirvana.
The offense racked up 487 yards and held the ball for 34.51. Stanley completed 20-of-31 passes for 226 yards and five touchdowns. Akrum Wadley galloped for 118 yards on 20 carries. Both tight ends, Hockenson and Noah Fant, had two touchdown catches.
Iowa was just as good defensively.
J.T. Barrett, who had thrown just one interception this season, was picked off four times by the Hawkeyes — three of those via Josh Jackson. The second-most prolific offense in the country was held to its second-lowest scoring total of the season. The Buckeyes were held under 400 total yards for the first time against a B1G opponent.
An Iowa team with a 6-3 record, which is now .500 in conference play, looked like a black-and-gold version of Alabama lining up across from sixth-ranked Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
You can give some credit to the Kinnick Stadium magic. The Hawkeyes have played relatively well against highly-ranked competition on their home turf over the last few years. But this wasn’t just the result of a team playing in front of a home crowd.
Home-field advantage is nailing a game-winning to kick to slip past No. 3 Michigan last year. Home-field advantage is hanging with a highly-ranked Penn State, despite being outmatched at every position on the field. Being inside Kinnick Stadium helped, but Iowa was absolutely dominant.
Wadley juked defenders out of their shoes repeatedly, while Stanley meticulously picked apart the defense. The offensive line stood up one of the best defensive fronts in the country, opening running lanes and giving Stanley a clean pocket.
The list could go on and on.
Line up the Hawkeyes across from anyone in college football on Saturday, and they might’ve won. That’s just how good, how crisp and how experienced they looked against Ohio State — a better team, with a better coaching staff and more talented players. If this was the Iowa that would’ve shown up in the other eight games this season, we’d be talking about a potential College Football Playoff berth.
These type of performances don’t come around very often. Sure, the Hawkeyes have pulled off their fair share of upset victories, but few have been as impressive as this. Most of those wins have been the result of an Iowa team that “just won’t go away.” Ferentz’s bunch sprinted away from the Buckeyes, but this time, it was the pace-setter.
Iowa has won a lot of these games under Ferentz, but none have come in this fashion. Saturday was special, maybe even be one of the most well-played games in the program’s history. And it came against the No. 6 Buckeyes.
There have been plenty of ups and downs this season for the Hawkeyes, but this was the pinnacle.
For one Saturday, Iowa was the best team in the country.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB