Buckeyes' pressure unravels Iowa's final drive

IOWA CITY -- Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi had the pressure of attempting to drive the Hawkeyes in the final minute Saturday. And then he had the very real pressure of Ohio State's defensive line on his heels and his head.

The only play Stanzi could actually set up for during the Hawkeyes' drive with 1:47 left in the game was a first-down screen pass. Otherwise, he was flushed or sacked.

Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward sacked Stanzi for an 11-yard loss on third down. Stanzi said he didn't see the final play because he was "picking up his teeth off the ground."

"They were getting pressure all day long," OSU coach Jim Tressel said about his defense, which blitzed a ton Saturday. "On the one touchdown he [Stanzi] hit, we were a fraction from hitting him and he stood in and hit a touchdown. That's why he's a good player."

Iowa had a decent set up on the final drive. The Hawkeye started at the 36 with 1:39 left and had two timeouts. But the Buckeyes' pressure sped up the clock.

"When they can just sit back there and play coverage with their guys, it's hard to find openings," Stanzi said. "It's not the best to go against a defense like that when they have guys flying around out there."

Stanzi, who was sacked twice Saturday, didn't point fingers. If anything, he put the blame on himself.

"That's not how we try to think around here," Stanzi said of the blame game. "That's a kind of a loser mentality. If you start thinking that way and blame it on other people, that's not how you're supposed to conduct yourself."