COLUMBUS — There is an old adage that states “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” The same could be said the the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) in their home Big Ten Conference match up on Saturday against the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1).

After leading just 7-0 at the half, the Buckeyes outscored the Hawkeyes 21-0 in the third quarter and pulled away with a 35-7 victory.

The lone touchdown of the first half came late in the first quarter on a 14-yard pass from Will Howard to Emeka Egbuka.

The third quarter saw standout freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith score on a four-yard pass from Howard, a four-yard rushing touchdown by Howard and a 15-yard strike from Howard to Egbuka.

The final Ohio State score came early in the fourth quarter as Howard and Egbuka connected for a third time, this one from three yards out.

Iowa scored with 8:07 remaining in the contest on a 28-yard run by Kaleb Johnson.

Statistically, Howard was 21-of-25 for 209 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

On the ground, Quinshon Judkins led the Buckeyes with 78 yards rushing on 13 carries.

TreVeyon Henderson followed with 61 yards on 11 carries.

Smith led Ohio State in receiving with four receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Egbuka had nine receptions for 71 yards and three touchdowns.

Defensively, Sonny Styles and Cody Simons led in tackles, each with four.

Davison Igbinosun recorded an interception for the Buckeyes.

OSU head coach Ryan Day shared his thoughts following the victory.

“This gave us a lot of confidence moving forward. It was a big challenge to our entire team about physicality and toughness and I thought we answered that. There is a team right there that feels like they got challenged and they answered that.”

He shared his thoughts on Iowa.

“We have a lot of respect for Iowa, Coach Ferentz and the way they do things. It’s a veteran team that’s played a lot of football and its not easy to rush for 200 yards against that defense. But also, some of the throws in the red zone I thought were pretty well done today because those are the types of throw you have to make against a really good defense.”

Egbuka commented on his three touchdown day.

“It was awesome. Shout out to Coach Kelly for calling the plays. We just try to execute whatever our coaches need, so it’s an 11-man effort. I couldn’t have gotten into the end zone if all the linemen weren’t blocking, the running backs doing their thing, other routes on the field taking away and opening up (Iowa’s) coverage and then obviously Will (Howard) putting it on the money. All 11 guys are working together and we’re just trying to have that camaraderie as we go on throughout the season.”

The Buckeyes (5-0) will now turn their attention towards their toughest test by far this season to date as they make the cross-country trip to Eugene, Oregon where the No. 3 ranked Oregon Ducks (5-0) will await them in a monumental showdown.