Since Wisconsin, Buckeyes set on kill

Ohio State sure looked dead in the water in the wake of Wisconsin.

The then-No. 1 Buckeyes lost 31-18 in a night atmosphere at Camp Randall Stadium . The Badgers' O-line overran and herded the Ohio State defense around the field for much of the night. Ohio State was in ruins. How would the Buckeyes make it through the rest of the season?

The No. 8 Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) would be the first to tell you they haven't faced the pillars of the Big Ten since Wisconsin, but they've taken care of business in dominating fashion. In three games since Wisconsin on Oct. 16, Ohio State has outscored its opponents (Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State) 139-24.

The Buckeyes have restored themselves as the top defense in the Big Ten, allowing just 13.6 points and 238.0 yards a game.

OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor grows his weaponry on a weekly basis. He has wide receivers Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey. He has running backs Dan Herron and Brandon Saine. In the past three games, 13 different Buckeyes players scored touchdowns.

In other words, Ohio State is fine. The Buckeyes are back to the Big Ten killing machine. Even in a season where Wisconsin and Michigan State are the contenders du jour, Ohio State will face the Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2) with a shot at a piece of its unprecedented sixth straight Big Ten title.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has pulled out all the stops. After the Buckeyes fell behind 14-3 at halftime against Penn State last week, Tressel yelled at his players.

"Well, the halftime locker room was not a fun place," Tressel said, "but it was not a place that looked like there was any quit in anybody. And our guys went out in the second half and took over."

The Buckeyes did just that, putting up 35 unanswered points to put down Penn State, 38-14.

"When coach Tress comes out and screams at us, we really know we need to pick it up," cornerback Chimdi Chekwa said. "That got us fired up. I'm glad he did it."

The comeback was the biggest in Tressel's 10-year tenure. The Buckeyes ran their November record to 27-4 under Tressel.

"He loves seeing us drive down the field," Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams said. "At halftime he made sure we knew what to do in the second half. We didn't want to let him down and we didn't."

The Buckeyes saddled up and rode Herron, a 5-10, 202-pound junior, and his career-high 190 yards to victory. Iowa knows well that Tressel would simply love to sit back and run the ball. Last season, the Buckeyes put up 229 rushing yards against Iowa in a 27-24 overtime victory at Ohio Stadium.

That 229 yards is the highest total against the Hawkeyes in a 40-game stretch, since Penn State rushed for 256 yards against Iowa at Beaver Stadium in 2007. This season, however, the Hawkeyes have allowed just three 100-yard games (Michigan, Wisconsin and Northwestern).

"If you want to be a contender in November, you have to be able to run the ball well," Ohio State fullback Zach Boren said.

The Hawkeyes' loss at Northwestern last week obviously took some of the shine off this matchup. The game doesn't hold direct Big Ten title implications for Iowa, which needs to win and needs everyone else to lose.

For Ohio State, there's a sixth straight Big Ten championship -- at least a piece of one -- a Rose Bowl berth and a chance to make up ground on Wisconsin in the BCS standings.

Tressel might want to start yelling now. Iowa is too good for the Buckeyes to do any scoreboard watching.

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