Ohio State at Iowa: 5 biggest storylines for top-10 matchup

Winning a close one

When you have the potential Player of the Year wearing your jersey you have to have a sense of confidence coming down the stretch in a close game. When you are playing a game that involves two top-10 teams, you have to assume that the game will be close coming down the stretch. For the Hawkeyes, those two scenarios have not met many times during the season and the question remains to be answered whether Iowa can win a close game.

Aside from a two-point victory at Rutgers and their six-point victory in their most recent game versus Michigan State, Iowa has not defeated a team by fewer than 13  points all season. The Hawkeyes have suffered losses by five, seven, and eleven, which is not direct evidence that they are unable to win close games, it is just they have not done so this season. In no way should Iowa be penalized for being able to comfortably defeat teams, but how they respond in crunch time is worth paying attention to.

The Buckeyes have had no lack of games decided by 10 points or less, with a record of 8 -3. This particular stat can be interpreted in one of two ways. Either the Buckeyes are good in crunch time, or the Buckeyes are not an elite team because they beat Notre Dame by just five points.

However you want to view it, the bottom line is the Buckeyes have played in stressful games that are have been closely contested, and Iowa has not.