Gameday Hawkeyes Reading Room -- Do the experts give Iowa a chance at OSU?

Blank slate. We wake up Saturday morning, and it's 0-0, Hawkeyes and Buckeyes.

So ... where do we go from here? Well, here are the national gurus' forecasts:

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Ohio State 23-9

Says Jon: At some point soon we're all going to look back in amazement at this statement: "Iowa actually was No. 4 in the BCS standings in the month of November."

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com: Ohio State 21-10

Terrelle Pryor scores two second-half rushing touchdowns as the Buckeyes win to reach their first Rose Bowl since 1997.

Really? No Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes since '97? That's wacky-wack.

Five New York Times guessers all say Ohio State.

Said Pete Thamel: This one should be ugly both to watch and in final score.

Las Vegas handicapper Brian Leonard of Footballwinners.com isn't sold on the Buckeyes.

"The Buckeyes haven't fared well when they were expected to win, and I'm not sure they can put enough points on the board to cover this spread," Leonard said. "Look for this to be a close game with points coming at a premium."

Adam Abramson of Newsday is going with the chalk, sort of. He likes OSU, 23-10.

Terrelle Pryor is playing better, but the Ohio State offense isn't exactly a machine. I think Iowa will hang around for a while, but the Buckeyes have too much on both sides of the ball.

East Coast Bias likes Iowa to cover the 17 points. I don't who or what East Coast Bias is, but it has a definite East Coast bias. ECB says:

But let's remember that Iowa's defense is what the team is built around, not Stanzi. Plus the backup will have actually prepared to play this week, and the coaches have had a chance to modify the offense to suit his skills and inexperience. I still think OSU will win, but I'm taking the points.

Dave Curtis of The Sporting News lists three reasons Iowa can win and three Ohio State can win. One of the reasons Iowa can win is ... Terrelle Pryor? Curtis writes:

There's no doubt Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns can dominate a game. Throw in Iowa's opportunistic back seven – the team's 19 interceptions lead Division I-A – and young, flappable Buckeyes QB Terrelle Pryor could be destined for another rough day.

Tim Sullivan of the New York Post thinks Iowa and the 17 points is a good play.

“They're still going to be who they are,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “That's what has made Iowa such a solid program.”

We agree. Iowa (+17) is the pick.

Finally, something different. Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer says what I say. Namely, the Rose Bowl is the place to go for a Big Ten football team. He writes:

The Buckeyes should want it so badly they can feel it on their skin, like the heat out where the land runs out but the sun lingers. There is nothing else like it. The Rose Bowl takes you from Heaven to Hell, from the stars to the Devils Gate, amid the most majestic scenery in sports.

It is a day spent in an endless summer, with a Beach Boys song about wild surf, fast cars and being true to your school playing in your head.