Hawkeyes put Buckeyes’ title hopes to bed

IOWA CITY, IOWA» Big Ten teams with national title hopes should know by now to be wary of Kinnick Stadium in November.

The Ohio State Buckeyes weren’t — and their playoff aspirations are probably cooked because of it.

Nate Stanley threw for 226 yards and five touchdowns, and Iowa throttled third-ranked Ohio State 55-24 on Saturday, dealing what’s likely to be a fatal blow to the Buckeyes’ hopes of reaching college football’s Final Four.

Josh Jackson added three interceptions for the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3), who beat their fourth topfive opponent in their last five tries at home. Iowa also knocked off unbeaten teams Michigan (2016) and Penn State (2008) in the regular season’s final month.

“I didn’t see any signs. Usually, I see signs, and if I do, I address them,” Meyer said when asked if his team suffered a letdown after coming off an emotional 39-38 comeback win over Penn State last week.

Iowa went up 7-0 on the game’s first play — a pick-six of J.T. Barrett — and raced out to a 31-17 halftime lead on a pair of Stanley TD passes to Noah Fant.

Stanley, following a successful and highly unusual fake field goal, later fired a 2-yard TD pass with a defender hanging onto his foot that put the Hawkeyes ahead 38-17 late in the third quarter.

“Our guys played with a lot of heart and toughness,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Ohio State (7-2, 5-1, No. 6 CFP) allowed its most points in a game under Meyer, and Barrett had a career-high four interceptions.

“They were baiting him — that’s their coverage,” Meyer said. “We just didn’t play very well.”