IOWA CITY, Iowa — Fourth down, 10 yards to go with the season on the line for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes put the ball in Terrelle Pryor’s hands, and Pryor used his legs to help them escape from Iowa with their Rose Bowl hopes intact for another week.
Dan Herron rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:47 remaining and No. 9 Ohio State rallied to beat Iowa 20-17 Saturday.
Terrelle Pryor threw for 195 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten), including a crucial 14-yard run on fourth down to keep the game-winning drive alive.
The victory kept Ohio State tied with Wisconsin and Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings heading into next week’s showdown with rival Michigan.
“I was going to run the whole time,” Pryor said. “I found running room, had some good blocking. I just cut it up and went and got the first.”
No. 20 Iowa (7-4, 4-3) went ahead 17-10 early in the fourth quarter on freshman Marcus Coker’s 1-yard TD run. But Devin Barclay’s 48-yard field goal brought the Buckeyes to 17-13, and Pryor engineered a 76-yard drive despite DeVier Posey’s drop of a sure TD pass.
Ricky Stanzi had 195 yards passing and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes, who have yielded a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of each of their defeats.
The game went to the fourth quarter tied at 10-10. The Buckeyes blinked first - then rallied behind Pryor for its 12th victory in 13 tries over the Hawkeyes.
Pryor threw an errant ball over the middle that was tipped, picked off by Shaun Prater and returned to theOhio State 27-yard line. Coker, in for a struggling Adam Robinson, followed a 26-yard run with a 1-yard plunge to put the Hawkeyes ahead 17-10 with 11:53 left.
Barclay pulled Ohio State to 17-13 with a 48-yarder with 7:38 left, and the Buckeyes forced the Hawkeyes into a quick three-and-out.
That’s when Pryor redeemed himself.
Posey, who had blown past the coverage, had the ball slip right through his hands with 4:02 left to set up 4th-and-10 at the 50.
Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel took Pryor aside and got him focused after Posey’s frustrating drop.
Pryor scrambled 14 yards to pick up a first down the Buckeyes had to have at the Iowa 36.
Two rushing plays netted 10 yards, giving Ohio State a first down at the Iowa 26 with 3:09 to play.
Pryor found Dane Sanzenbacher for 24 yards to the Iowa 2 with 2:49 left, and Herron’s touchdown put the Buckeyes ahead for good.
Pryor finished with 78yards rushing on 15 carries and survived two interceptions.
“It was huge and gave us that momentum,” Tressel said of Pryor’s fourth-down conversion. “I was afraid he was messing around and wasn’t going to get the first, but he made it. “
In other games, Montee Ball and James White combined for 354 yards rushing and six touchdowns, leading No. 7 Wisconsin (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten) one step closer to its first Big Ten championship since 1999 with a 48-28 victory at Michigan (7-4, 3-4). If the Badgers beat Northwestern next week at home, they will win at least a share of the title and likely earn a trip to a BCS bowl. ... Kirk Cousins lunged into the end zone from 3 yards out with 4:32 remaining, and No. 12 Michigan State (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten) kept its Rose Bowl hopes alive with a 35-31 victory over Purdue (4-7, 2-5). Cousins threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mark Dell with 6:54 remaining, and a 2-point conversion made it 31-28. Denicos Allen then blocked a punt, giving Michigan State the ball inside the 5 and setting up Cousins’ touchdown.Purdue then drove to the Michigan State 20, but Rob Henry was intercepted on fourth down with less than a minute to play. ... Mikel Leshoure ran for a schoolrecord 330 yards and two touchdowns, and Illinois (6-5, 4-4) beat Northwestern (7-4, 3-4) 48-27 in a game played under unusual circumstances at Wrigley Field. The Big Ten announced on Friday that the schools had implemented several ruleschanges because of safety concerns. The most notable: offensive plays ran only toward the west end zone near the thirdbase dugout. The east end zone in right field came within a foot or so of a heavily padded brick wall. So after changes in possession, the ball was repositioned. All but one touchdown, an interception return by Northwestern, was scored in the west end zone. ... Matt McGloin threw for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns, James Van Fleet returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, and Penn State beat Indiana 41-24 in Landover, Md. Van Fleet’s 21-yard return broke a 24-24 tie in the third quarter as the Nittany Lions (7-4, 4-3) survived after blowing an early 14-point lead to give Coach Joe Paterno his 401st career victory. Indiana (4-7, 0-7) lost its 12th consecutive conference game.
MID-AMERICAN Western Michigan rolls
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Brian Fields and Tevin Drake each rushed for more than 100 yards as Western Michigan routed Kent State 38-3.
Fields had 132 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while Drake had 102 yards and two scores on eight carries for the Broncos (5-6, 4-3 Mid American).
Kent State (4-7, 3-4) had more yards of offense - 431 to 426 - than Western Michigan, but only had a 29-yard field by Freddy Cortez in the second quarter to show for it. The Golden Flashes had 104 yards in penalties, two interceptions and were 7 for 19 on third-down conversions and 1 for 4 on fourth down.
Spencer Keith (Pulaski Academy) completed 25 of 39 passes for 244 yards for Kent State. Western Michigan’s Alex Carder was 21 for 32 for 163 yards and a touchdown.
In other games, Chad Spann rushed for three touchdowns and Northern Illinois (9-2, 7-0) clinched the Mid-American West Division title and a berth in the conference championship game with a 59-21 victory over Ball State (4-8, 3-5). Chandler Harnish threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and the Huskies won their eighth consecutive. ... Dwayne Priest ran for 192 yards on 35 carries and 3 touchdowns to lead Eastern Michigan (2-9, 2-5 Mid-American Conference) to a 21-17 victory over Buffalo (2-9, 1-6). Jerry Davis finished with 222 yards passing and led Buffalo with 42 rushing yards.
Sports, Pages 34 on 11/21/2010