Ohio State’s first month of the season is complete and we’re still feeling good about our preseason picks that the Buckeyes can win this year’s national championship.

There’s still a couple of lingering question marks, though it’s not necessarily what we thought the biggest concerns would be going into the season, as Ohio State’s linebacker play has been shaky while its offensive line has exceeded expectations. And there are certainly bigger tests to come than what the Buckeyes have faced so far, including this Saturday’s game against Iowa at Ohio Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS).

With that being said, we both agree that we’re feeling just as if not more confident that Ohio State can achieve its goals of beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten and winning the national championship one month into the season as we did before it began.

On this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, we evaluate what we saw from Ohio State in the first month of the season before looking ahead to this week’s matchup against the Hawkeyes and the challenges they’ll present to the Buckeyes in the ground game on both sides of the ball.

The rundown for this week’s conversation:

• 0:00 Intro
• 3:27 Run Game, Jeremiah Smith, Safety Play Among Most Impressive Aspects of First Month
• 17:10 Linebacker Play Among Areas Where Defense Can Grow
• 30:40 Will Howard and Offensive Line Have Played Well, Still Have More to Prove vs. Better Defenses
• 38:45 Why Our Confidence That OSU Can Win the National Championship Has Only Grown
• 42:49 Iowa Will Test Ohio State in Run Game, But Buckeyes Should Have Advantage in Pass Game
• 51:24 Score Predictions for Ohio State vs. Iowa