Last call -- Ohio State (with BCS rank -- No. 13)

Your 2010 running back is . . . -- Going into Saturday's pregame, Adam Robinson knew he would play. The redshirt freshman running back suffered a high-ankle sprain at Michigan State and missed Iowa's last two games. He practiced this week and reported no pain or swelling. He knew he would play -- some.

He didn't know until halftime that fellow freshman running back Brandon Wegher would miss the entire 27-24 overtime loss to Ohio State.

"I didn't know I was going to play the whole way," said Robinson who finished with 74 yards on 20 carries. "They kept saying that Brandon there was a chance Brandon still might get in during the second quarter and second half. After the third quarter, I thought, 'OK, I don't think he's going to make it back.' "

It was the first time this season one running back carried the load for Iowa. It wasn't exactly planned that way, though.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was caught off guard by Wegher's absence.

He didn't know Wegher wasn't going through pregame drills until ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe asked where Wegher was.

"There's nothing I hate worse than watching pregame," Ferentz said. "That's probably one good thing about being head coach. You don't have to be involved in pregame drills. I've always hated those. . . . I never look at opponents, I hate that, too. So, I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but . . ."

Rowe asked where Wegher was.

" 'He's out there on the field,' " Ferentz said. "Then I found out he wasn't. He just couldn't go. It's kind of how our season has been going. It's been a thrill a minute."

Ferentz said it was "internal complications." The Iowa radio broadcast said rib injury. Wegher suffered a rib injury after absorbing a hit at Michigan State, a victory that has now caused Iowa players to miss a collective nine games. Ferentz said Wegher should be ready for practice on Tuesday.

So, it was all Robinson. Iowa was held to 67 rushing yards, two off its season low of 65 (Wisconsin and Northwestern). Robinson still managed 3.7 yards a carry against a defense that was allowing only 2.65 yards a carry going into Saturday.

"That was totally unexpected," Ferentz said. "I didn't expect him to go out there and carry the whole load like that. He did a great job."

Robinson, who leads Iowa with 703 yards, said he was "85 t0 90" percent healthy.

"I was well enough to play and cut and that's really all you need," he said. "You just need it well enough to play."

So, about running back for 2010 . . .

Certainly to reason to sweat it now. It's impossible to have a read on sophomore Jewel Hampton, who's redshirting after undergoing an ACL repair. Hampton rushed for 400-something yards and a freshmen-record seven TDs his freshman year. Freshman Jeff Brinson also has had foot surgery and is out for the season. No read on him, either.

Wegher has been solid-t0-spectacular. Yes, he averages just 3.8 yards a carry, but he's shown great bursts of athleticism and is a threat in the passing game. And he's had just one fumble. He's also impressed Iowa coaches with his toughness.

Robinson averages 4.5 yards a carry on a team that averages 3.3. He's also a threat in the passing game, with he and Wegher excelling in Iowa's rapidly improving screen game. He has zero fumbles. The durability and toughness he showed Saturday has to impress the decision makers.

And then there are recruits, D'Andre Johnson (5-8 muscle ball) and Marcus Coker (he's the Shonn Greene of Baltimore preps).

But now, I'm really getting ahead of myself.

 Five . . . dropped . . . passes -- Let's just give this a clinical look and move on.

1) Little more than a minute left in the first quarter, quarterback James Vandenberg rolled to his left and delivered a strike to senior wide receiver Trey Stross for what should've been a 16-yard TD on third-and-11. The ball got "in" on Stross. The ball bounced of his chest or the underside of his forearms. Iowa settled for Daniel Murray's 33-yard field goal.

"That's gotta be caught," ABC analyst Matt Millen said.

2) On first down on Iowa's next drive, Vandenberg executed a play-action rollout and again hit Stross in the numbers for what would've been a 13-yard gain and a first down. The drive then died a three-and-out and Iowa punted after the defense had just spent 17 plays and 8:40 on the field for a field goal drive.

The Buckeyes then marched 74 yards and scored their first TD on Brandon Saine's 22-yard run for a 10-3 lead.

"Stross is not doing anything to help and he's coming to the sidelines," said Sean McDonough, ABC play-by-play voice.  

3) On first-and-10 from Iowa's 46 with 1:04 left in the first half, Vandenberg threw a bullet that hit tight end Tony Moeaki in the hands. He dropped what would've been a 9-or-so yard gain.

"Yeah, this Vandenberg has got a little juice on it," Millen said. "But hey, at this level, you've got to catch the juice ball."

On the next play, Vandenberg came under heavy rush and was hit when he threw a ball over the middle for Moeaki. It was a little high and behind him, but the ball bounced off Moeaki's hands and into the arms of safety Anderson Russell.

TV counted that as a fourth drop. I don't know.

4) On third-and-goal from the 5, Vandenberg tried Stross again. He rifled a pass to Stross' outside shoulder near the 1-yard line. Stross appeared to try to gather it in rather than snatch it with his hands. Instead of fourth-and-goal from the 1 or a TD, Iowa settled for Murray's 22-yard field goal. He left it wide right.

"You have to feel for him now," McDonough said. "He's like a putter with the yips."

5) There was a little less gravity to this one. On first-and-10 from Iowa's 49, with about 11:45 left in the game, Vandenberg threw a short out to wide receiver Marvin McNutt for what would've been a short gain. The ball hit McNutt in the hands and popped into the air. The drive ended with OSU linebacker Ross Homan picked off Vandenberg and setting up a 49-yard Saine TD run.

"I couldn't tell you," Ferentz said when asked about the drops, "I agree with your observation, but I couldn't tell you what caused them."

Streak ends at 242 -- Since C.J. Jones went "C U later" for 100 yards to open the 2003 Orange Bowl, the Iowa Hawkeyes went 242 kick returns and nearly seven seasons without a return for a TD.

Wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos ended that misery with a 99-yard kick return for a TD that brought life back into the Hawkeyes with 10:56 left in the fourth quarter.

It started with a bobble. DJK dropped the kick off at the 1. That might've helped, though, it gave the wedge blockers a few more beats to find a little more depth.

DJK sprinted up to the wedge and then cut to the right, running out of an arm tackle by Storm Klein. Reserve defensive tackle Mike Daniels laid the key blocks, blasting through the wedge and putting one Buckeye on the turf and shielding another.

Then, along the Ohio State sideline, defensive back Nate Ebner overcommitted to the sideline as DJK slowed and made a big cut back to the inside.

Home free, with a cadre of Hawkeyes along for the ride.

"It was an opportunity for me to give us some momentum," said DJK, who averages 32.2 yards on 11 kick returns. "I knew it. I knew a lot of people were counting on that and I was able to come through for us, but in the end it really doesn't matter. We lost."

"I felt like it was a matter of time," he added. "We've been close all year. Thought we were close early in the game. Guys busting their butts paid off."

Vandenberg vision -- James Vandenberg's arm was impressive in his debut against Ohio State.

On his 9-yard TD pass to Marvin McNutt, Vandenberg split perfect coverage from an all-Big Ten caliber cornerback Chimdi Chekwa and an all-Big Ten caliber safety Kurt Coleman. It was basically a missile fired through a window the size of a laptop, if even.

The throw left Millen chuckling.

"This juice is in a really tight window," he said. "Between two defenders and right on top of him. Kurt Coleman the safety was there. Chekwa the corner was there. But McNutt comes down with the ball because of the fantastic throw by Vandenberg."

"He threw a McBullet to McNutt," McDonough said.

Then in the fourth quarter, Vandenberg showed touch and placement on a 10-yarder to McNutt, allowing the 6-4 wideout to reach his baseball glove hands (I've held my hand up to his, trust me) over Chekwa.

"Marvin is such a threat in the red zone," Vandenberg said. "He's a big, balanced guy. For some reason, people think he's slow, but he has really good feet. He's a matchup problem down there. They have to pick their poison. Do you want to stop the slant and let us throw it up to him? Or are you going to are you going to try to play the fade ball and give us the slant? Both times, he did a great job of getting open. I had great protection and I was able to stick it in there."

 The arm, mechanics and fundamentals all seem to be there, but almost as impressive was Vandenberg's vision. He saw the field as well as Drew Tate did. He generally put the ball in places only his receivers could make plays on. On a pass that set up McNutt's 9-yarder, Vandenberg "threw open" McNutt, leading him ever so slightly more to the inside, where there was space and opportunity.

Vandenberg had trouble with pressure. His decision process broke down, but that happens to a ton of QBs. But his vision ald judgment kept him out of more trouble. Also, he's now thrown two picks to linebackers in underneath coverage. He needs to respect that a little more, obviously. He really didn't make many risky throws, save the tipped pass that Moeaki spun into gold. When it wasn't there, he didn't force it.

Vandenberg finished 20 of 33 for 233 yards, two TDs and three interceptions.

Keep in mind, this was the Big Ten's best defense.

"They really changed their defense during the game," Vandenberg said. "If you compare the first quarter to the fourth quarter, it wasn't even the same defense.

"They started mixing up their coverages, bringing pressure. They just did a good job of mixing it up all night. It doesn't really kill you, but it throws some stuff off. I thought we adjusted on the fly really well."

The decision -- We've been over Ferentz's thoughts. Here's what Vandenberg said about it:

"On the road, making that drive, yeah, we've only got to get a field goal range," Vandenberg said, "I was perfectly fine with the decision. There's a lot of bad things that could happen, there's a lot of good. But we were going to take our chances in overtime and we really just couldn't pull it out in the end."

I thought you might want to hear from the guy under the gun.

Inside the numbers

100 -- For just the second time this season, the Hawkeyes gave up a 100-yard rusher, with Brandon Saine for for 103 and two TDs. Iowa State's Alexander Robinson was the last back to hit 100 against Iowa, rushing for 100 yards on Sept. 12. Before Robinson, it was Maine's Jhamal Fluellen for 104 in the 2008 opener.

0 -- This was just the second game this season the Hawkeyes didn't cause a turnover (Michigan State). This season the Hawkeyes have scored 81 points off 28 turnovers.

25-4 -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is 25-4 in November games at Ohio Stadium.

11 of 12 -- The Buckeyes have won 11 of the 12 games, including the last three, in their series against Iowa.

229 -- The Buckeyes rushed for 229 yards on 51 carries. It was the first time an opponent broke 200 yards against the Hawkeyes since Penn State rumbled for 256 in 2007.

233 -- Iowa QB James Vandenberg finished with 233 yards, the fifth-best yardagef for an Iowa QB this season. Vandenberg's 20 completions tied the second-most for an Iowa QB this season. Stanzi completed 22 in the opener against Northern Iowa.

6 for 51 -- The Hawkeyes tied their season-high six penalties (third time) and set a new season-high with 51 penalty yards. Ferentz didn't bemoan the horse collar penalty massaged OSU's TD drive in the first half, but he didn't like the free kick out of bounds on Murray and the personal foul that was called on the same play. Defensive tackle Christian Ballard was called for the penalty, but I'm not sure if he's on kickoff. This gave OSU first down at Iowa's 45. The drive ended with a missed 47-yard field goal.

Next -- The No. 15 Hawkeyes (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) will try to snap their two-game skid against Minnesota (6-5, 3-4).

Iowa has won seven of its last eight against Minnesota, including four straight at home.

At stake for Iowa, an decent shot at a BCS bid. The Hawkeyes are hanging at No. 13 in the BCS poll. They need a win to stay in the top 14 and stay eligible for a BCS bowl. Penn State, which travels to Michigan State on Saturday, is ranked No. 14 in the BCS.

From the official BCS site (www.bcsfootball.org): "The Big Ten, on the other hand, seems well-positioned to earn a second BCS bowl berth, despite the conference's struggles on the sport's biggest stages.

Ohio State has clinched the Big Ten title and will play the Pac-10 champion in the Rose Bowl. Iowa and Penn State are both in the top 14 (the cutoff for earning an at-large berth) and will both likely be favored in their season finales (vs. Minnesota and at Michigan State, respectively)."

The Gophers were underwhelming in their 16-13 over South Dakota State.

Normally enthusiastic Minnesota coach Tim Brewster seemed a bit dour after the game, especially on the topic of his offense.

""I wasn't pleased with some of the things I saw today, particularly from an offensive standpoint," Brewster said. "As far as protecting the quarterback and making some plays, we had time of possession really in our favor. Third down conversions, obviously 3 of 16 is not acceptable. It's not acceptable. Against any team it's not acceptable.

"We did enough to win the football game and we're pleased to win the football game but we still didn't play very well, particularly on offense."

Minnesota averaged just 2.9 yards on 48 carries. Quarterback Adam Weber completed just 10 of 21 for 94 yards. He was sacked four times.

Minnesota gained just 3.3 yards on 70 offensive plays.

"The defense has every reason to be joyful and excited, but our offense has to realize that we can't play the way we did," Weber said. "That is the way we're going to lose football games.

"We came away with the win, and we are going to take that into Iowa and try and get the pig and give them our best shot.”

Oh yeah, the Floyd of Rosedale bronze pig trophy will be in Kinnick. Iowa has a chance to keep the Cy-Hawk Trophy, the Heartland Trophy and Floyd for the second straight season.