No. 14 Iowa knows what they're facing in Jeremiah Smith, No. 5 Ohio State

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes don't have much time to celebrate their Week 4 last-second win over the Michigan Wolverines at the Big House.

Yes, it was a huge win, and yes, Iowa is now ranked No. 14 in the country. The Hawkeyes also have to feel like they're now a sneaky College Football Playoff team to watch.

Yet Ferentz was all business in the hours after the win over Michigan.

"One thing about games like that, you get a billion text messages, which is really nice to hear from people, but it's kind of a pain in the ass to try to get back to everybody," the longtime head coach explained to the media on Tuesday. "Like thanks, but we've got some stuff in front of us right now. We've got to play Ohio State; you don't. But they all get it; it's all good. No complaints."

Ferentz isn't complaining, but he does seem to be fretting a bit, because he knows the enormity of the test his team has coming up in Week 5.

The Hawkeyes play host to the No. 5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, and even though they are the home team, they're the massive underdogs heading into this one.

The big reason for that is Ohio State's explosiveness on offense. The Hawkeyes have always been a plodding team, and this year is no different. They're scoring 32.75 points per game, but those numbers are inflated by big wins over Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. Against Power Four peers in Iowa State and Michigan, their points per game drops down to 18.

Meanwhile, Ohio State is scoring 45 points per game. Sure, you could say big wins over Ball State and Kent State inflate their number as well, but they also scored 23 in a loss to Texas and 42 in a win against Illinois. That's 32.5 points per game against Power Four programs.

The Buckeyes also have arguably one of the best college wide receivers of all time in Jeremiah Smith.

Iowa will need to beat Ohio State with defense and special teams 

Smith is fresh off a 12-catch, 217-yard, and four-touchdown performance against the Illini and is getting early consideration as a Heisman Trophy favorite.

Ferentz knows the Hawkeyes will have their hands full with the elite receiver.

"They've always had, it seems like, a marquee guy there, and no different right now," Ferentz said of Ohio State. "No. 4 (Jeremiah Smith), we saw him a couple years ago as a freshman, awfully impressive then, and now he's two years older and more experienced. Probably, I'm guessing, would be in the argument for maybe the top player in the country. If he's not, he's certainly in the top handful. He's a really good player."

Ferentz and the Hawkeyes will try to slow Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin down, but they may not be able to.

If not, is this Iowa team able to get into a shootout and win a game? The Hawks will have home-field advantage, but that's a tough ask for any Ferentz-led football team.

They'll try to grind the Buckeyes down and win on the margins with defense and special teams. If this thing becomes a boat race, though, Iowa could be in trouble.