IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Robert Smith rushed for a season-high 129 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, allowing Ohio State to keep its bowl hopes alive with a 38-15 victory over Iowa.
Jeff Cothran and William Houston also rushed for touchdowns for the Buckeyes and Tito Paul recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for another score as Ohio State maintained a grip on second place in the Big Ten with a 3-2 record.
The Buckeyes, who limited Iowea to 37 yards rushing, improved to 6-2 overall with their 35th victory in the series. Ohio State is 12-5-2 in games played in Iowa City.
Iowa, experiencing its worst season since 1980 when the Hawkeyes went 4-7, fell to 3-6 and 2-3.
Smith's touchdowns came on runs of 3 and 7 yards as Ohio State scored on each of its first three possessions to open up a 21-7 lead with 11:34 remaining in the first half. Smith's 3-yard run capped a 69-yard march as the Buckeyes took a 7-0 lead at the 9:12 mark of the first quarter and he added a 7-yard run at the end of a 76-yard drive with 2:26 left in the period. Cothran made it a 21-7 gave with a 2-yard run in the second quarter.
Iowa got untracked after Smith's second touchdown and drove 75 yards in nine plays with Marvin Lampkin diving over from a yard out to make it a 14-7 game at the 13:17 mark of the second period.
After Cothran gave Ohio State a 21-7 lead, the Buckeyes took advantage of a poor snap on fourth down, sacking Iowa punter Scott Fisher for a 14-yard loss to the Iowa 9-yard line. The Buckeyes failed to capitalize as Williams was wide right on a 33-yard field goal attempt.
The Buckeyes then forced Iowa into another punting situation and Jason Louis came in to block Fisher's attempt and Paul recovered in the end zone.
Ohio State opened the second half with a 33-yard field goal by Williams and added its final touchdown with 5:12 remaining when Houston scored from a yard away.
Iowa, which must win its final three games to avoid its first losing season since 1989, closed to within 31-15 when Ryan Terry hauled in a 5- yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Paul Burmeister with 13:01 left in the game.
Burmeister, who replaced starting quarterback Matt Eyde on Iowa's last series of the third quarter, completed five passes during the drive. Burmeister had 9 completions in 17 attempts for 125 yards and Eyde completed 15 of 28 attempts for 128 yards. Terry led the Iowa ground attack with four carries for 38 yards.
