“This Would Be a Street Fight”: Urban Meyer Warns Ryan Day About Iowa Ahead of Ohio State Clash
· Yahoo Sports
Ohio State is set to face Iowa in Saturday’s matchup, and former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer believes Ryan Day’s team could be in for a much tougher matchup.
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Iowa is coming off a 20-19 victory over Michigan, while Ohio State bounced back from its narrow loss to Texas with consecutive dominant wins over Kent State and Illinois. Still, Meyer believes Iowa’s ability to move the ball could determine whether the Buckeyes cruise or find themselves in trouble.
“If it’s all on Iowa’s offense, you can’t do against Ohio State what they’ve done other times,” Meyer said on his ‘Triple Option’ podcast. “This can’t be a 10-point, one-touchdown game. Even against the Wolverines, one of the touchdowns was a kickoff return. Ohio State’s too good to do that. But if Iowa can move the ball, this would be a street fight.”
Meyer believes the Hawkeyes could expose an area of vulnerability on the Buckeyes’ defense.
“It’s going to be strength on strength: Ohio State’s offense against Iowa’s defense,” Meyer said. “How can Iowa move the ball where Ohio State’s defense has at times shown some vulnerability?”
Ohio State has allowed just 12.3 points per game this season, but Iowa enters the matchup averaging more than 215 rushing yards per game. Meyer believes that could give Kirk Ferentz’s team an avenue to keep the game competitive.
If Iowa cannot consistently move the ball, Meyer expects Ohio State to win by two scores. But if the Hawkeyes can establish their offense, he sees a much closer contest.
Ryan Day Still Haunted by Ohio State’s 2017 Loss to Iowa
The Buckeyes suffered a stunning 55-24 loss to Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in 2017. Day was serving as co-offensive coordinator at the time, and the defeat remains a painful memory.
“Bleach that from my mind,” Day said in a press conference. “It’s a lesson learned about a lot of things, but that was then, this is now. That was a long time ago. But it doesn’t change the fact that Coach Ferentz and his staff do a great job, and when you go there you have to be on your game and be able to execute at a high level across the board in all three phases.”
The Buckeyes have won their last two games against Iowa, but Day knows the environment at Kinnick can present challenges.
“It’s gonna take everything we have. Everyone’s got to be on their game. It’s all about preparation, you know, how we prepare to play in this game, and it’s going to take everything that we have, you know, in terms of our body. You know, we got to be fresh going into this game. We also got to be on top of our stuff mentally, you know, and the faster you play is usually how much you know,” he said.
With Ohio State at 3-1 and Iowa coming off its statement win over Michigan, Saturday’s showdown promises to be an epic battle.
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