By: Bill Lubinger (Cleveland Plain Dealer) — COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State clinched its fifth straight Big 10 title and first trip to the Rose Bowl in 13 years, winning, 27-24, on Devin Barclay’s 39-yard field goal in overtime before an announced crowd of 105,455 Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State (9-2, 6-1), ranked 10th in the country, had blown a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead as 15th-ranked Iowa (9-2, 5-2) — which started the season with nine straight wins for the first time in school history and played without injured starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi — kept gamely bouncing back.

Redshirt freshman James Vandenberg, subbing for Stanzi, the junior from Lake Catholic, was poised and accurate as he kept the Hawkeyes alive.

Ohio State tailback Brandon Saine appeared to put the game away with a 49-yard dash down the left sidelines for a commanding 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Iowa junior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos raced 99 yards with the next kickoff to keep the Hawkeyes alive, 24-17, and the Hawkeyes tied the score, 24-24, on Vandenberg’s 10-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wideout Marvin McNutt.

Scoring came slowly in the first half. Iowa took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on Daniel Murray’s 32-yard field goal. Ohio State tied it in the second quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Devin Barclay, and pulled ahead, 10-3, late in the quarter on a 22-yard run by Saine.

Iowa tied the score again, 10-10, late in the third quarter on a 9-yard slant from Vandenberg to wideout Marvin McNutt. But the Buckeyes pulled ahead, 17-10, to start the fourth quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Dan Herron, who took the snap and ran around right end for the score.

Ohio State travels to Michigan next Saturday at noon for its final regular-season game, while Iowa plays visiting Minnesota.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 8:12 pm.
Categories: BUCKEYE COUNTRY, FOOTBALL.

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  1. BuckeyeCountry.net

    Ohio State edges Iowa, 27-24, in overtime for Big 10 title and Rose Bowl trip
    http://bit.ly/zbTCu

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