Ohio State football teaches Iowa running back a harsh lesson in reality after a sharp interview – Jimmy Watkins

“I don’t really care about the offers and things like that,” Johnson said earlier this week. “I’m definitely coming in with a chip on my shoulder because it’s O-State and I want to beat them. That’s why I feel like even if they had offered it to me, I wouldn’t have gone because I feel like I want to beat them.”

“I’m the type of guy that wants to beat the leaders,” Johnson said later in the same interview. “I don’t want to be with them. I want to hit her. For me it’s always something to show what I can do against the best people in the country.”

Fifteen porters, 86 Yards and a touchdown in garbage time later, Johnson showed us the difference between top dogs and promising puppies. Iowa fans might consider their running back a once-a-decade game-breaker. And about 90 minutes southwest of The ‘Shoe, residents of Hamilton would consider Johnson a hometown hero.

But here in Columbus, the Buckeyes defend players like Johnson every day in practice. They call him number two, nothing special. And when they met him in the trenches during Saturday’s game, they usually stopped him.

Don’t blame the defense: Despite hiring new offensive coordinator Tim Lester and posting better (read: less embarrassing) offensive performances this season, Iowa still can’t throw the ball. The Hawkeyes entered Saturday ranked 122nd nationally in pass yards per attempt. And leading receiver Jacob Gill, who transferred to Des Moines this offseason after 16 catches in three seasons at Northwestern, entered the game with 145 yards in four games.

Suffice it to say, Johnson’s Hawkeyes lack the balance necessary to maximize their rushing attack.

However, running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins don’t have that problem at Ohio State. Here at Wide Receiver U, defenses are so worried about pass catchers like Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith that they can’t add additional defenders to slow Ohio State’s (equally dangerous) ball carriers.

The Buckeyes ranked 13th nationally in yards per attempt entering Saturday, and their leading receiver (Smith) has more one-handed touchdown receptions (two) this season than Gill’s two (one). They also ranked third in yards per carry, in part because their dual-threat offense keeps defenses guessing.