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(AP) -- A whole season of hope and expectation rides on eighth-ranked Ohio State's game at No. 21 Iowa on Saturday.

The Buckeyes know that all those offseason workouts, the grueling two-a-days in the heat of August, the close calls and the big wins will be for naught if they lose to the Hawkeyes. A defeat would most likely mean an end to Ohio State's five-year run as Big Ten champion and could very well relegate the Buckeyes to a second-tier bowl game.

Win, however, and they will be just a victory against rival Michigan away from a sixth straight shared or outright conference title plus they'll still be in the mix for a Bowl Championship Series bowl bid.

They don't expect it to be easy.

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