In typical Hawkeye fashion the game came down to the last few minutes but unfortunately this time, they made the fatal mistake of challenging the Buckeyes to an overtime duel.  There are a few things in Big Ten football that are bad decisions.  Taking the Buckeyes to OT is one of them.  And once again a backup player stepped up to make the big play.  Buckeye Kicker Devin Barclay, in for injured kicker Aaron Pettrey, came in and kicked a 39 yard field goal to win the game, share of another Big Ten title and the automatic BCS berth.  Not bad for a former pro soccer player that walked on to the team.

For the Buckeye nation it was their 5^th straight title.

Now as for the game itself, RB Brandon Saine (pictured left, thanks Icon SMI) had a great day rushing for 103 yards and a TD.  Dan Herron also rushed for 97 yards and a TD.  As for Terelle Pryor, he threw for 93 yards and rushed for 29 more.  Not his best performance but he did win the big game.  Doubters be warned, Pryor can win the big game.  On the Hawkeye side of the ball now, the Stanzi replacement, Freshman James Vandenberg looked much better than when he stepped in for Stanzi last week.  He threw for 233 yards, 2 TD’s and led the Hawkeyes back to tie the game with minutes remaining.  RB Adam Robinson rushed for 74 yards and WR Marvin McNutt caught 78 yards and 2 TD’s.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Minnesota almost lost to South Dakota State.  How close did they come?  Well they kicked the game winning field goal with 2:22 left in the game to win 16-13.  If there were any highlights for the Big Ten in this game I would tell you about them.  I think it would be best to just move on.

Wisconsin abused the Wolverines with a 45 – 24 win.  Scott Tolzein had another great game throwing for 240 yards and 4 TD’s.  John Clay rushed for 151 and a TD.  WR’s Nick Toon and Garrett Graham each posted good numbers.  Nick Toon had 98 yards and 2 TD’s while Graham had 62 yards and a TD.  Tate Forcier posted 188 yards passing and 2 TD’s throwing TD passes to Roy Roundtree (56 yards) and Vincent Smith (54 yards).

Penn State beat Indiana even though they really did try to hand the victory to the Hoosiers with 4 turnovers in the first half.  QB Daryll Clark threw for 194 yards and a TD but he also rushed for 29 yards and another TD.  RB Evan Royster rushed for 95 yards and a TD to help lead the Nittany Lions to a 31-20 victory.  For the Hoosiers, QB Ben Chappell threw for 298 and 2 TD’s.  His TD recipients were Damarlo Belcher (95 yards, 1 TD) and of course Tandon Doss (68 yards and a TD).

Northwestern edged out Illinois with a 21 – 16 win led by QB Mike Kafka’s 305 yards passing and a TD.  Kafka also rushed for another TD and 12 yards.  Zeke Markshausen had catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.

And Michigan State edged out Purdue 40-37 in another game that came down to the final 2 minutes.  Joey Elliott passed for 373 yards and 2 TD’s in the win.

Looking ahead to the final week we have a trophy bonanza this weekend plus one of the greatest rivalry games in all of football (just to clarify, I am talking about Michigan and Ohio State).

Three trophies are up for grabs.  To start, the Floyd of Rosedale trophy will go to the victor in the Iowa – Minnesota game.  If you have no clue what the Floyd of Rosedale trophy is well you should look it up.  To summarize, the trophy is a bronze pig that is 21 inches long and 15 inches high.  I can’t do the story justice but it has something to do with a governors bet way back in 1935.  Minnesota holds the advantage in this series but I am thinking the Hawkeyes will take the trophy pig home for the third straight year.  Come on, admit it.  You know you want a bronze pig trophy.

Next is the Old Oaken Bucket game between Indiana and Purdue.  Purdue dominates this series with a 55-26-3 advantage.  I expect the Boilermakers to add to their win total this week.

And the other trophy game is between Michigan State and Penn State for the Land Grant Trophy.  This is one of the newest trophies in the Big Ten with PSU holding a 12-4 edge in the series.  And look for PSU to take home another trophy this year.

Now for the Michigan – Ohio State game:  believe it or not but once again this game will impact the Big Ten title.  If the Buckeyes win they will clinch the title outright.  Now if the Wolverines win then the Big Ten title gets messy with Iowa, Penn State and Wisconsin having a chance to share the crown with the Buckeyes.  Yes, there will be a lot of Big Ten fans pulling for Michigan this week.  Can the Buckeyes take care of business?  We shall see.

Predictions:

Iowa 22 – Minnesota 13, the Hawkeyes take the Pig.

Wisconsin 27 – Northwestern 26

Purdue 17 – Indiana 13, the Bucket goes to the Boilermakers.

Penn State 31 – Michigan State 27, Land Grant going to Joe Pa’s boys.

Ohio State 42 – Michigan 14, the Buckeyes end the season with a bang and have the crown outright.

Enjoy some great football this weekend.

Related posts:

1. Big 10 Week 12 Bookends: Buckeyes Stand Alone Atop Big 10
2. Big 10 Bookends: The Black and Gold Fold.
3. Big 10 Bookends: Big 10 is Big Pimpin’
4. Big 10 Week 3: Buckeye Blowout
5. Big 10 Bookends: Not That Hawkeye

Tags: Big 10, Floyd of Rosedale Trophy