The Buckeyes sliced and diced the Hawkeyes on their opening drive then turned the ball over on three of their other four possessions in the first half.
That allowed the Hawkeyes to stay within a score despite being outgained 199-90.
Iowa received the opening kickoff but punted after gaining one first down.
The Buckeyes responded with a 14-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that displayed a little bit of everything they could do.
Will Howard capped it by finding Emeka Egbuka in the end zone from 14 yards out, but many players got involved on the march.
TreVeyon Henderson carried three times for 18 yards, Quinshon Judkins carried four times for 17 yards, and Howard completed all five of his passes.
The senior hit four different teammates with passes, including three to Egbuka.
But the Buckeyes did not score again in the first half as they turned the ball over on downs at the Iowa 41, lost a fumble at the Iowa 28 and had a pass intercepted near midfield.
Iowa had one scoring opportunity, but the Hawkeyes missed a 51-yard field goal.
The second half was all Ohio State.
The Buckeyes took the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown to open up some breathing room.
Jeremiah Smith did most of the work this time, first getting behind two defenders for a 53-yard catch. He had to stop to haul in an under-thrown ball, but that only delayed the inevitable.
One play later, Smith jumped up, reached back and grabbed a pass behind him with one hand for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Buckeyes got the ball back quickly as Jack Sawyer knocked the ball out of Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara’s hands on the Hawkeyes’ first play of the ensuing possession, and Cody Simon pounced on it at the Iowa 19.
Three plays later, Howard kept pulled the ball on a zone-read and beat the Iowa defense to the corner of the end zone to push Ohio State’s lead to 21-0.
Iowa mounted a drive on its next possession, including a 28-yard burst from Kaleb Johnson, but it came to a halt when McNamara hit Ohio State defensive back Davison Igbinosun with a pass at the Ohio State 15. Igbinosun returned it 45 yards to the Iowa 40, and seven plays later the Buckeyes scored again when Egbuka hauled in an over-the-shoulder throw from Howard from 15 yards out.
That made it 28-0 Ohio State with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.
Howard and Egbuka hooked up again from three yards out with 10:58 left to push the lead to 35-0.
Iowa got on the board late when Hamilton High School grad Johnson split the defense for a 28-yard touchdown run.
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