Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes reveal players of game from win over Iowa

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is already in the beginning stages of prep for Oregon; the Buckeyes didn’t spend too much time celebrating their 35-7 win over Iowa.

But the program did announce its players of the game from the win over the Hawkeyes before officially moving on to the top-three matchup against the Ducks.

On the offensive side of the ball, senior wide receiver and captain Emeka Egbuka was named the Offensive Player of the Game. He had nine catches on 10 targets for 71 yards and three touchdown grabs.

Ohio State couldn’t just pick one defensive player of the game, so it settled on three. Defensive end Jack Sawyer (three tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble), cornerback Davison Igbinosun (three tackles, one interception) and linebacker Sonny Styles (team-high seven tackles, two tackles for loss) share the honors for their efforts.

Sawyer and Igbinosun each had a turnover forced, while Styles had arguably his best game of his career so far — and certainly his best at linebacker since making that switch from safety this offseason.

But enough about the win over Iowa. It’s on to Oregon.

Buckeyes open week favored for top-10 matchup at Oregon

The Buckeyes stayed perfect by taking down Iowa at home. Oregon scored a home win of its own, destroying Michigan State. Both held up their end of the bargain to make this such a pivotal matchup with Big Ten title and national championship implications.

Ohio State will hit the road later this week ahead of the matchup, and the Buckeyes will head West as a 3.5-point favorite, according to the folks over at Fanduel Sportsbook. The total is set at 53.5 points.

The Buckeyes have done a good job of easily taking care of the first five opponents faced this season. This year so far has been a build up the matchup against Oregon. Each of the five opponents on the schedule has been better than the last.

Oregon will be the toughest the Buckeyes have seen — by far.

READ MORE: Buckeyes open week favored for top-10 matchup at Oregon

AP Poll: Buckeyes, Oregon officially set for top-3 matchup

COLUMBUS — Ohio State and Oregon have been on a collision course since the schedule was announced. Both were expected to be undefeated heading into their massive Big Ten clash.

Both teams have now taken care of business, setting up a high-stakes top-10 matchup in Eugene this weekend.

Yes, the Buckeyes and Ducks will meet as top-10 teams on Saturday in the game of the year so far for the Big Ten. The league’s two best teams will square off for the first time as conference foes, and they’ll do it with the entire country watching. Ohio State moved up to No. 2 in the latest AP Poll after its win over Iowa; Oregon handled Michigan State on Friday night to remain in the top 10. The Ducks are ranked No. 3.

After a week of absolute carnage at the top of the poll, both the Buckeyes and the Ducks are climbing the top five of the rankings. Then-top-ranked Alabama lost to Vanderbilt for the first time in 40 years, going down a week after beating Georgia. Then-No. 4 Tennessee went down on the road to unranked Arkansas. Then-No. 9 Missouri got blown out by Texas A&M. Michigan, then ranked No. 10, lost to Washington on the road, while then-No. 11 USC lost at Minnesota.

Ohio State and Oregon both avoided them against unranked teams, setting up what is now a top-five showdown in Eugene. Buckle up. It’s going to be fun between the Buckeyes and Ducks.

AP Top 5 (Oct. 6)

1. Texas (52)
2. Ohio State (9)
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Georgia

Counting down

Ohio State at Oregon: 5 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 26 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 54 days

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