Columbus, OH- The odds were stacked up against them.  There is nothing more the Buckeyes love to do than to prove the naysayers wrong.   Could the Bucks go on the road, to the largest stadium in College Football and upset Joe Pa and the Penn State Nittany Lions?  You bet your buckeyes they could, a 24-7 win to be exact. 

The last leg of the OSU schedule isn’t a walk in the park.  With PSU out of the way now, the Buckeyes gear up to face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Shoe.  The Hawkeyes have proved their concrete power in the Big Ten and on a National level.   This Saturday in Ohio Stadium, there is a lot on the line; not only the Big Ten Championship but, a trip to the Rose Bowl for the winner of this weekend’s game.

The Hawkeyes are ranked 15^th in the AP poll and 13^th in the USA Today/Coaches Poll and they would be ranked higher if they were not defeated by Northwestern last Saturday. 

With the warranted win at Penn State the Buckeyes seem eager to host the Hawkeyes.  “I thought our guys put together a pretty darn good effort. They knew once the ball game was over that although that was awfully tough, what lies ahead is even tougher and they're going to prepare hard this week and get ready for an excellent Iowa team,” said Coach Tressel. 

Tressel went on to say, “Iowa, I think is as solid as anyone in our conference across the board on the special teams. Their specialists are very good, but as important and maybe less discussed, the people that do all the other jobs in the special teams, the protecting guys, the coverage guys, the blockers and so forth do an excellent job with what they do. Everyone is very tuned into their defense. Their defense is rock solid. You're not going to get any free yards.”

The attitude of the Buckeyes is to never over look an opponent and they don’t plan on letting up this week.   In fact, the Buckeyes and especially the Buck’s D are chomping at the bit to get Iowa in the Shoe.  Why specifically the defense you ask?  They will have some fresh meat on their hands.  Iowa’s starting QB Ricky Stanzi is likely out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury he sustained against Northwestern. 

Redshirt freshmen James Vandenberg will make his first career start against the Buckeyes.   When junior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward was asked if his eyes get big at the sight of young, inexperienced QB he politely responded “You’re definitely salivating to get to the quarterback but, he has a great offensive line around him.  It’s important for us to get pressure and disrupt his rhythm.”

FYI, Vandenberg, Cameron Heyward recorded a career high 2.0 sacks and 11 tackles, probably not the guy you want salivating to get to you.  To top it off the Ohio State defense held PSU QB, Daryll Clark to a season low 125 passing yards and over the past 35 quarters the defense has allowed just eight touchdowns. 

This match up will be a display of elite defenses, offenses that have the potential to be tremendous and without a doubt a display of passion for the game of football.