Another Big Ten championship
Killing two birds with one stone, the Buckeyes guarantee their trip to the Rose Bowl and at least a share of the Big Ten title with their win over Iowa. The means might not have been as nice as Buckeye fans would have liked, but the result is exactly what we were looking for. The Buckeyes will be going back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the ’96 season when they played Arizona State. This is also the fifth straight season that the Buckeyes have been a top of the Big Ten at season’s end.
Iowa did not make it easy on Ohio State, taking the game into an overtime period. I believe that everyone thought that with Iowa’s starting QB out for the remainder of the regular season that they would not be able to move the ball as effectively as they did. Freshman QB James Vandenberg was making throws that did not look like he was a freshman. He was able to finish the game going 20 for 33 with 233 yds, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He did not see a whole lot of blitzing the Jim Heacock seemed to be content with just a four man rush most of the game, which could be why he was able to complete so many passes.
In all honesty it looked to me that the Buckeyes came into this game flat. Maybe it was because they were at home or maybe because they were already thinking about the big rivalry game coming up. On a good note this was the second week in a row that Ohio State did not give up a turnover. Now that Iowa is out of the way it is time to turn their attention to that team up north. GO BUCKS!!!
