Nick Saban Warns of ‘Kiss of Death’ Matchup Ahead of Major Big Ten Clash

The seven-time national champion explained on College GameDay how a top-five road offense can beat an unbeaten home defense that leads the nation in scoring.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban discusses college football on the set of ESPN College GameDay | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Nick Saban, the seven-time national champion and ESPN College GameDay analyst, says No. 5 Ohio State's offense can push No. 14 Iowa into the one matchup the Hawkeyes want to avoid in Saturday's Big Ten clash at Kinnick Stadium.

On Friday's show with Pat McAfee, Saban said a one-on-one matchup with Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith is "the kiss of death for Iowa." He added, "That's not what they want, but that's what they're going to get. And Arthur Smith is going to create it."

Nick Saban on Jeremiah Smith

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) scores a touchdown | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Saban started with how a defense should line up against the Buckeyes' No. 4.

"I think you've got to try to play him over and under, try to jam him, don't let him release off the line of scrimmage," Saban said. "He's a big, powerful guy. He's got really strong hands. He's great at the contested catch. I mean, this guy's one of the best players in college football."

The third-year receiver is coming off 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State's 42-19 win over Illinois. Earlier this week, Saban also compared him to former Alabama star Julio Jones on The Rich Eisen Show.

How does Iowa's Cover 7 work?

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker yells to his players | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Saban said Iowa plays a lot of Cover 7. He described it as three defenders on two receivers on the weak side and four defenders on three receivers on the strong side.

"If you can play three guys on two, which you can on the weak side of the formation, that's a better advantage to the defense to be able to take the split end out of the game," Saban said.

But the strong side leaves Iowa open to a mismatch. "When you get to the strong side and four over three, now somebody's going to get in a one-on-one situation because you've got four guys on defense playing against three guys on offense," he said. "Can't double them all."

Iowa's defense leads the nation in scoring and ranks in the top 10 in yards allowed at 239.8 per game. Still, the Hawkeyes have faced Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Michigan, and none of those offenses has a receiver like Smith.

Arthur Smith moves Jeremiah Smith around

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Arthur Smith watches during the college football game against the Ball State Cardinals | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State hired Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator in January after he spent two seasons in the same job with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Saban expects the former Atlanta Falcons head coach to line up his star receiver in many spots.

Saban said Ohio State is "going to move Jeremiah Smith all over the lot, which is going to make it really difficult for Iowa not to get caught in some kind of a one-on-one matchup with the guy."

When Pat McAfee asked him to explain, Saban added, "And I think that's where Ohio State will create a great advantage with number four."

Iowa enters 4-0 after a 20-19 win at Michigan, and that result moved the Hawkeyes up in our Big Ten power rankings this week. Ohio State is 3-1 and hasn't won at Kinnick since 2010. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy also made his pick for Ohio State-Iowa this week.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.