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Film review is back, and boy is this one going to be a doozy. 

Iowa fans have waited all week for their team's highly-anticipated clash against No. 5 Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday (2:30 CT, CBS), but what will fans truly see from the Buckeyes on Saturday? 

To get the full scope on this matchups, I watched Ohio State's victory over Illinois last weekend to figure out some of the biggest strengths and weaknesses on this Buckeye team. 

Here are my thoughts after the rewatch. 

Julian Sayin is a pure pocket passer 

While Iowa faced a very mobile quarterback in Michigan's Bryce Underwood last weekend, it's going to be a different vibe in Iowa City on Saturday. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is one of the nation's most accurate passers (he's completed 72.2% of his passes this year), but in contrast to most of the nation, he's about as pure of a pocket passer as it gets. 

Does that mean he's completely immobile back there, though? Absolutely not. The Fox broadcast revealed that the Buckeye coaching staff has challenged Sayin to use his legs more, and he did just that against Illinois, tallying just the second rushing touchdown of his career in this game. The seven-yard scramble in the closing seconds of the first half was good, but that wasn't Sayin's best rushing highlight. Illinois had him dead in the water with a successful pass rush, but Sayin showed some elusiveness with a 29-yard escape early in the second quarter. 

While Sayin can run if he absolutely has to, he prefers to do most of his work from the pocket. There were a few times in this Illinois game that he could've gained at least 10 yards by simply using his legs, but he stayed in the pocket too long and was only able to pick up a few yards. 

As I alluded to in our top positions to watch earlier on Thursday, Sayin is at his worst when he's under pressure. He made some excellent plays with defenders in his face against Illinois, but Texas rattled him in the second half of that game with a consistent rush, resulting in Sayin going just 5-for-16 after the break (Ohio State lost, 24-23). 

The bottom line for Iowa here: get as much pressure on Sayin as possible. If you can do that on a regular basis, then you're going to have a chance to win this football game. If you don't? Sayin will make you pay. He threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns against the Fighting Illini.

Jeremiah Smith is not human 

The recipient of Sayin's four touchdown passes was none other than Jeremiah Smith. For those that don't keep up with other college football storylines, Smith was so good against Illinois that Illini head coach Bret Bielema decided to fire his defensive coordinator, Bobby Hauck, the day after the game. 

Smith's final stat line – 12 catches for 217 yards and four scores – is far from a surprise by now, but what Illinois was trying to do defensively should be shown in every film room in America. It's almost impossible to cover the 6-foot-4, 222-pound Smith one-on-one, but Hauck somehow thought his already-struggling 3-3-5 defense could do it last weekend. 

Needless to say, it didn't work. Smith's extraordinary route running ability made quick of the Fighting Illini defense. Illinois was so broken on this day that it allowed Smith to streak straight down the seam uncovered, and he took advantage by prancing in for a 72-yard touchdown. 

Luckily for Iowa, defensive coordinator Phil Parker is probably smart enough to know he needs to have safety help near Smith at all times. Smith is going to have a big play against the Hawkeyes, but expect Parker to try and make seniors Devin McCuin (165 yds, 1 TD this year), and Brandon Inniss (133 yards, 1 TD) beat them. 

Defense can be vulnerable at times 

One of the biggest concerns Ohio State fans have about their team right now is their run defense. Longtime NFL defensive coordinator and former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia is in his second season as the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator. Though his defense was stout last year and remains in the top-7 of the Big Ten in 2026, stopping the run has been a challenge. 

The Buckeyes have yielded 114 rushing yards per game (11th in the Big Ten) this year – including 199 to Illinois last weekend. That's a surprising figure considering Ohio State like to use five men on the line of scrimmage, but give credit to the Fighting Illini for exploiting a weakness. Quarterback Katin Houser kept the Buckeyes on their toes with his mobility, but OSU's man coverage is what hurt them in the run game.

Its young corners had their fair share of coverage lapses, but when you run a lot of man coverage, you have to avoid crashing in too far. That means the linebackers and safeties race to the line to defend the ball carrier, but if you go to far in, the edge is wide open. Illinois back Jordan Anderson took advantage of this with a 22-yard touchdown in the first half. 

Though Ohio State won this game 42-19, this game was much closer than that. Houser missed an open touchdown just inside the two-minute timeout that would've cut it to a one-score game at half (the Buckeyes then scored a TD), and it's worth noting the Illini punted just twice in this game and had 462 total yards. 

Every game is different, but based on what I saw from this defensive film, Iowa is going to have opportunities down field if it wants it. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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