By: Bill Blanton (BuckeyeCountry.net) -

“Tressel Ball” is alive and well in Columbus. If Ohio State fans had any doubts, those were put to rest on Saturday afternoon in a 27-24 overtime victory over Iowa.

The victory clinches a share of the Big Ten Championship for Ohio State (9-2, 6-1) and will send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 years.

“None of our kids have gone to the Rose Bowl. I haven’t been there in 25 years. I was an assistant coach in the 1985 Rose Bowl,” coach Tressel said. “There’s nothing like it. It’s a great feeling.”

There were fans that didn’t think this moment was possible after a loss to Purdue on October 17th dropped the Buckeyes out of the national championship race. Since then, Tressel has put the “vest” back on and has ridden his young offensive line and running game to four straight victories, rushing in excess of 200-yards in each of those games.

Brandon Saine rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns and Dan Herron added another 97 yards and a score for the Buckeyes.

The game looked to be heavy weight championship bout early as both teams moved the ball but scoring was limited. Ohio State assumed control of the game in the second quarter with the score tied at 3-3. An 8-play 74 yard drive was capped by a Brandon Saine 22 yard touchdown run that gave Ohio State a 10-3 lead at the half.

Iowa countered in the third quarter with a 3-play 56 yard drive that was capped by a 9 yard touch down pass on a quick slant, perfectly placed pass from Vandenberg to Marvin McNutt between Buckeye defenders Kurt Coleman and Chimidi Chekwa.

The Buckeyes would grab the lead back 17-10 on their next possession moving 79 yards on 11 plays with Dan Herron scoring on an 11 yard touchdown run.

The Buckeyes seemed to deliver the knockout punch early in the fourth quarter when Ross Homan intercepted a Vandenberg pass. A penalty during Homan’s return moved the ball back to the Iowa 49 yard line. The next play Brandon Saine broke through a hole on the left side of the line and ran 49 yards for a touchdown and what seemed an insurmountable 24-10 lead.

The 14-point margin was short-lived, however. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos dropped the ensuing kickoff, picked it up, shed a tackle and raced to the right sideline where he sidestepped another potential tackler before sprinting 99 yards for the fourth-longest return in Iowa history.

The Buckeyes seemed to get control back as a kick-off out of bound coupled with a personal foul gave them great field position at the Iowa 45 yard line. After moving inside the 30 yard line, Tressel became very conservative and seemed content to allow Devin Barclay to attempt a long field goal that would give the Buckeyes a 10-point lead. Barclay missed a 47-yard field goal and Vandenberg made several big plays on the next drive, leading Iowa down the field and throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt, his second of the game.

With the score tied at 24-24, Ohio State and Iowa each had a possession but handled the ball with caution and seemed content to play for overtime.

The Hawkeyes started overtime with an incompletion. Then freshman running back Adam Robinson was thrown for a 6-yard loss by Austin Spitler. Doug Worthington sacked Vandenberg for a 10-yard loss on third down. Out of field goal range on fourth-and-26, Vandenberg then lofted a long pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Anderson Russell.

The Buckeyes continued to handle the ball with extra care — just the way Tressel Ball is played. With the silver vest tight to the chest, three runs up the middle netted two yards. On came Barclay, the Buckeyes’ front-line kicker since taking over after starter Aaron Pettrey injured a knee three games ago.

Barclay was perfect as he connected on a 39-yard attempt to win the game for OSU 27-24.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m speechless,” said Barclay, a former Major League Soccer player who walked on for the Buckeyes. “The fourth quarter definitely made it interesting. I’m just glad we came out on top — and now we’re going to the Rose Bowl.”

“We had so much confidence in Devin that we were going backwards to make his kick longer,” Tressel said in post game press conference.

Ohio State has not been to Pasadena since the 1996 team finished No. 2 in the nation, scoring in the final minute to beat Arizona State 20-17 in the Rose Bowl, the crowning moment of the John Cooper era.

However Buckeye fans want to spin this win, one thing is for sure, 228 yards of rushing in a win last week in Happy Valley and 229 yards of rushing in the win over Iowa. Somewhere, Woody is smiling.

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