Overview
- No. 5 Ohio State visits No. 14 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the game televised nationally on CBS.
- Sportsbooks opened Ohio State about a 14.5‑point favorite with a money line near -625 and an over/under of 45.5, reflecting strong market confidence in the Buckeyes.
- Advanced simulations from SportsLine that ran 10,000 projections favor the Under 45.5 and project a close, low‑scoring game driven by Iowa’s ability to limit Ohio State’s scoring chances.
- Ohio State’s offense enters on a clear upswing after Julian Sayin and junior receiver Jeremiah Smith combined for a 12‑catch, 217‑yard, four‑TD performance in Week 4, lifting Smith into Heisman and betting conversations.
- Iowa arrives 4‑0 after a last‑second 20‑19 win at Michigan and leads the FBS in scoring defense, and the Hawkeyes’ home environment at Kinnick is expected to slow tempo and influence game flow.