By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One-third of the way through the 2026 regular season and the 4-0 Iowa football team is becoming relevant again on the national stage.

ESPN GameDay will host its pre-game show in Iowa City for the first time in 20 years as part of the hype surrounding Iowa’s game against Ohio State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa also has climbed to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and there is a buzz in Iowa City as fans now wonder if this will prove to be one of those special seasons that happens every five or six years under Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 28th season as the Iowa head coach.

It’s okay for fans and the media to day dream about all the possibilities and to look at the big picture because that’s what fans and the media do in these kinds of circumstances.

Kirk Ferentz, meanwhile, focuses on just the next challenge, which in this case is a monumental one in mighty Ohio State.

Nearly nine years have passed since Iowa shocked the college football world by crushing Ohio State 55-24 in 2017 at Kinnick Stadium.

It was a transcendent moment, something fans and the media will never forget.

But it also appears to have been a fluke, considering Iowa lost at Wisconsin the following week, 38-14, as both of Iowa’s touchdowns came on pick-sixes by All-America cornerback Josh Jackson.

The Iowa offense was almost inept against Wisconsin in 2017, gaining just 66 yards and five first downs on 50 plays.

To think that what happened in 2017 might have an impact on the state of mind of Ohio State’s current players and coaches is probably a reach since it happened nearly a decade ago.

Buckeye star receiver Jeremiah Smith was just 11 years old when Iowa took Ohio State to the woodshed.

Ohio State already has lost once this season to Texas, blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, so there is little margin for error as the Buckeyes try to meet their incredibly high expectation of not just making the college playoff, but either winning it or coming darn close to winning it.

Few, if any college football programs, have a higher bar to clear than Ohio State does.

So with one loss already, the Buckeyes are feeling some additional pressure and it isn’t even October yet.

They’ve also shown some vulnerabilities in certain areas.

Ohio State’s defense was shredded for 462 yards, including 199 rushing yards, against Illinois this past Saturday, though it had little impact on the final score as Ohio State prevailed, 42-19.

Jeremiah Smith had four touchdown catches against Illinois, including three in the first quarter. He was basically unguardable, especially one-on-one.

It will be fascinating to see what Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker comes up with as a strategy to prevent Smith from taking over the game. It seems highly unlikely that Parker would leave any of his defensive backs on an island with the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Smith.

If Ohio State has any shortcoming on offense, it might be the lack of a second star receiver as they had last season with Smith and Carnell Tate, who now plays in the NFL.

Iowa’s biggest concern on offense is that the running game mostly sputtered against Iowa State and Michigan, gaining fewer than 100 yards in both games.

But with Illinois having gained almost 200 rushing yards against the Buckeyes, you would think that Iowa should be able to mount some kind of ground game.

Shifting to defense, Iowa’s ability, or inability, to pressure the quarterback could be a major storyline against Ohio State, whose quarterback, Julian Saying, is one of the most accurate passers in the country.

Sayin is lethal when given time to pass from the pocket.

He isn’t a dual-threat quarterback, but nor is he a statue in the pocket.

Sayin is a gifted passer who has the luxury of throwing to one of the greatest receivers in Big Ten history.

To help put Iowa’s 2017 Buckeye beat-down into perspective, Ohio State has a 17-6-2 record against Iowa in Iowa City.

So just beating the Buckeyes in Iowa City by any score is spectacular by itself.

Iowa also pounded Ohio State 33-7 in 2004 at Kinnick Stadium.

However, Ohio State was only ranked 23rd at the time and would go on to finish 8-4 that season, which for Ohio State is sort of like having a losing season.

The 2017 Ohio State team , on the other hand, finished 12-2, proving once again that its 31-point loss to Iowa was probably a fluke.

But a fluke still counts as a win and that’s all that matters.

Following the Ohio State game, there isn’t another game left on Iowa’s schedule where the opponent looks superior.

Iowa’s three-game stretch to start Big Ten play against Michigan, Ohio State and at Washington looked more daunting heading into the season than it does now.

Iowa already has disposed of Michigan; Ohio State’s defense is a work in progress and Washington just hasn’t played very well and has been ravaged by injuries at running back.

And while Iowa has become one of the early college football storylines, thanks to its win at Michigan, the Buckeyes play in games like this on a regular basis.

Wherever Ohio State goes, the national spotlight follows.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day certainly benefits from some tremendous perks and built-in advantages that come with his job. But he’s also under unyielding pressure to win every game and to make the playoff every season.

That kind of constant pressure can wear on a person.