A Closer Look

Magic Still Missing for Iowa

by Mike Meyers

Before their loss to Northwestern, they'd put together an impressive string of come-from-behind wins and amassed the second longest unbeaten streak in the country. But for the second week in a row, #10 Iowa could not come up with enough magic for another win, and fell to #11 Ohio State 27-24 in overtime. Coming into the game, the Hawkeyes were 17-point underdogs. But it was clear early that this one would likely come right down to the wire. The big question mark for Iowa before the game even began was freshman quarterback James Vandenberg. Starting in place of the injured Ricky Stanzi, Vandenberg turned in a solid showing, finishing 20-33 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Despite his age, the freshman QB showed good poise and the ability to find the open man-most often in the form of wide receiver Marvin McNutt. It was a defensive battle for most of the game, with Ohio State taking a 10-3 lead at the half on a 30-yard Devin Barclay field goal and 22-yard touchdown run by running back Brandon Saine. Saine and sophomore running back Daniel Herron provided the bulk of the Buckeye offense, rushing for 103 and 97 yards, respectively. With the game knotted at 10 after three quarters, the two backs traded touchdowns to give OSU a commanding 24-10 lead with 11:11 to play. But seemingly down and out has been Iowa's bread and butter this year, and they immediately served up a 99-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff to stay right in it. Vandenberg would orchestrate a 70-yard drive late in the quarter and find McNutt on a 10-yard TD pass to tie it up and send things to overtime. But the freshman QB finally showed his age in the extra period, failing to get rid of the football and taking a 3rd-down sack that pushed the Hawkeyes out of field goal range. His 4th-down pass was picked off in the end zone, and OSU played it safe to set up a 39-yard Barclay field goal for the win. The victory earned Ohio State a trip to the Rose Bowl and at least a share of the Big 10 Title.

Blowing any shot of a BCS bid was #9 USC, who was blown out by unranked Stanford 55-21 in the Coliseum. Beating the Trojans at home has been nearly impossible, as they've gone 47-2 in the span of the last 49 games. But the Cardinal made it look easy, setting the tone early and steamrolling the perennial powerhouse for four quarters. Stanford got on the board first with a 4-yard TD pass from quarterback Andrew Luck to Owen Marecic near the end of the first quarter. Luck had a decent showing, going 12-22 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of the workload was carried by running back Toby Gerhart, however. The senior ran all over the Trojan D, rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Gerhart first found the end zone with 1:22 left in the first quarter, making it 14-0 and foreshadowing what would be an absolute disaster for USC. By halftime it was 21-7 Cardinal, and while USC narrowed the gap to 28-21 by the end of the third quarter, it was all downhill for the Trojans after that. Stanford piled on four fourth-quarter touchdowns-from all angles-scoring on two rushes, a 24-yard pass and a 43-yard interception return. By the time the dust settled, USC had given up the most points in school history and any chance at another Pac 10 Title.

Also bit hard by the upset bug was #14 Miami, falling to unranked North Carolina 33-24 in Chapel Hill. The 'Canes were the clear favorite in this one, but after a 20-17 win over then-ranked #13 Virginia Tech just two weeks ago, it was clear the Tar Heels were far from pushovers. Following a scoreless first quarter, UNC went to work, scoring on a 29-yard pass from QB T.J. Yates to Greg Little to take the lead. Miami would counter on their following drive, however, when junior running back Damien Barry barreled into the end zone to tie things up at 7-7. The rest of the half was all UNC. Casey Barth knocked in two field goals and Kendric Burney notched his first of three Jacory Harris interceptions on the day, and made the most of it. Burney returned the errant offering 77 yards to the house to put his team up 20-7 heading into the half. The Hurricanes would get back in it after a Matt Bosher field goal and a 3-yard Graig Cooper touchdown run made it 23-17. But Harris' wildness would ultimately lead to Miami's demise. The sophomore threw a career-high four interceptions on the day, the most damaging coming midway through the fourth quarter. It was Burney's third pick of the day, which he lateralled back to teammate Melvin Williams who finished off the final 44 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Harris answered back quickly, finding Jimmy Graham for the 14-yard score to make it 24-30. But UNC kept the 'Canes off the board for the remainder of the game and added another Casey Barth field goal to put things out of reach for Miami.

Looking ahead to next week, keep an eye out for the big upset, as no two teams in the top 25 will face each other. One possibility will feature unranked Arizona hosting #11 Oregon. With the recent USC loss, there's a lot on the line for the Ducks. A win over Arizona this week and another over Oregon State would assure them a Pac-10 Title and a Rose Bowl berth against Ohio State. Arizona has talent, and boasts a win over the Stanford team that just disposed of the Trojans. But Oregon's dynamic duo of QB Jeremiah Masoli and running back LaMichael James will likely be more than the Wildcats can handle.

It's a long shot, but the in-conference rivalry between #10 LSU and unranked Ole Miss could be a good one to watch. The Tigers easily have the better team, with their only two losses coming to two of the top teams in the country in Alabama and Florida. The Rebels' season has been a bit of a disappointment with losses to unranked Auburn and South Carolina, but they could still pose a threat to the Tigers. Senior running back Dexter McCluster has rushed for over 120 yards in each of his last three games, including a monster 282-yard performance against Tennessee on Saturday. If McCluster can get things going against LSU the Rebels might make a game of it.

Also watch out for #9 Ohio State taking on unranked Michigan in the Big House. There's no escaping it. The Wolverines have been an absolute embarrassment to their storied history this year. After starting out 4-0, Michigan dropped six of their last seven games including three blowouts to Penn State, Illinois and Wisconsin. OSU's only hiccups have come against USC and Purdue, and they will have the Wolverines outmatched in talent and momentum coming into Saturday's contest. They left it all on the field in their overtime win against Iowa, however, and may be a little tired and banged up from a dogfight of a game. Michigan has nothing left to play for but ending their miserable losing streak against their Rose-Bowl bound conference foe. Look for the Wolverines to bring everything they have in hopes of a major upset.

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