IOWA CITY — Ohio State went into one of the toughest environments in college football Saturday and came away with a convincing 31-14 victory over No. 14 Iowa.

The Buckeyes improved to 4-1 behind another ridiculous afternoon from Jeremiah Smith, a defense that dominated Iowa’s running game and an offense that moved the ball consistently despite making things harder on itself with far too many penalties.

There was plenty to like, but there was also enough sloppiness to give Ryan Day and his staff plenty to work on.

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s win at Kinnick Stadium.

The Good: Jeremiah Smith. Duh.

As I wrote last night: He is him.

Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, breaking Ohio State’s career records for receptions and receiving touchdowns in the process. He already owned the school’s career receiving-yardage record, meaning Smith now sits atop all three of the major receiving categories in program history.

That would be impressive enough by itself, but Saturday also marked his second consecutive 200-yard receiving game. Smith followed his 217-yard, four-touchdown performance against Illinois with another 206 yards against one of the best defenses in the country.

Just how rare is that?

Smith became only the second player in Big Ten history to post consecutive 200-yard receiving games, joining Indiana’s Ty Fryfogle. He is the first Ohio State receiver ever to accomplish it.

At a school that has produced Cris Carter, David Boston, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka and plenty of others, being the first Buckeye to do just about anything at wide receiver is pretty amazing.

Smith has reached the point where performances that should seem outrageous are beginning to feel normal. Iowa entered Saturday allowing only 152 passing yards per game. Smith had 206 by himself.

That is stupid.

And I mean that in the best way possible.

The Bad: Penalties

Ohio State was good enough Saturday to overcome its mistakes, but that will not always be the case.

The Buckeyes were penalized nine times for 49 yards, and the most frustrating part was how many of the problems occurred before the snap. Ohio State had multiple false starts, including several from the offensive line, repeatedly turning manageable situations into longer ones before the football had even moved.

Some of that can be attributed to Kinnick Stadium. It is loud, hostile and exactly the kind of place where communication becomes extremely difficult. Some of it can be attributed to Iowa’s defensive line and its sudden shifting pre-snap, which is, to me, bush-league psych-out stuff — much like Iowa's pink walls inside the visiting locker room.

But that can only excuse so much.

Ohio State expects to play its best football in November and December. That means Michigan. That means winning the Big Ten and its championship game. That means playoff football, where one false start on third-and-short can kill a drive and one wasted possession can end a season.

The Buckeyes were able to survive it against Iowa because Smith kept making ridiculous plays, Sayin threw for more than 300 yards and the defense gave the offense plenty of room for error.

Against that team up north, or in the College Football Playoff, the margin will not be nearly as forgiving.

This is correctable. It also needs to be corrected.

The Ugly: Trying to Defend Jeremiah Smith

I almost feel bad for defensive coordinators. Almost.

There was a time when the obvious answer to dealing with an elite receiver was relatively simple: put your best corner on him, roll a safety over the top and make somebody else beat you.

That sounds good in theory.

Then Jeremiah Smith moves into the slot.

Or across the formation.

Or into motion.

Arthur Smith deserves plenty of credit for how Ohio State is using its best offensive player. Jeremiah Smith is no longer simply lining up in one place and allowing a defense to decide how it wants to cover him. Ohio State moves him around enough that defenses have to constantly identify where he is and adjust their coverage accordingly.

Nick Saban actually pointed this out before Saturday’s game, explaining that moving Smith throughout the formation would make it extremely difficult for Iowa to consistently get the coverage matchup it wanted.

He was right.

But there is another problem for defenses, and it might be the bigger one. Even when they get the coverage right, Smith still wins.

Iowa tried different looks. He saw double teams, triple teams and multiple coverage looks. There were occasions when multiple defenders were exactly where they were supposed to be.

It still didn’t matter.

Kirk Ferentz admitted afterward that Iowa threw everything it had at Smith. The result was still 11 catches, 206 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a top-10 defense throwing everything at a player who left the field holding multiple records.

That has to be an awful feeling for a defensive coordinator. You spend all week designing ways to take away the best player on the field, get your defenders into position and execute the call correctly.

Then No. 4 catches the ball anyway.

That is the problem Arthur Smith has created for opposing defenses. Moving Jeremiah around makes it harder to find him before the snap.

Jeremiah Smith makes it harder to stop him after it.

At this point, defenses are running out of answers, if they had any to begin with.