Ohio State star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has been limited to parts of two games this season because of a hamstring injury, returned Saturday to start in the Buckeyes' 54-10 blowout of Iowa.
Smith-Njigba, who broke the Big Ten record for yards in a season in 2021, caught one pass for 7 yards in the game.
He hadn't played since Sept. 17 against Toledo, as the Ohio State staff has handled his injury with an abundance of caution, wanting Smith-Njigba to be fully healthy before coming back on the field.
Ohio State's offense also was boosted by the return of tailback Miyan Williams, who didn't play two weeks ago against Michigan State because of a knee injury. He leads the nation with 7.77 average yards per carry (60 attempts or more) and has eight TDs on just 64 carries.
Williams rushed for 19 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts vs. Iowa.
Ohio State offense entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense (48.8) and No. 2 in total offense (543.7).
Smith-Njigba had 1,606 receiving yards last season, breaking the Big Ten receiving record set by Lee Evans in 2001. Smith-Njigba's 347 receiving yards in the Rose Bowl broke both the all-time bowl and the fifth-highest single-game total in NCAA Division I history.