Ohio State - Predictions

When Ohio State has the ball -
They are led by one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the nation in Terrelle Pryor.  Last season, Iowa was able to stymie Pryor, only allowing him to gain 29 yards rushing and 93 passing yards.  However it was Ohio State's running backs that hurt Iowa last year, gaining 200 yards combined on the ground.  This season the Buckeys come to Iowa City with six different players that have carried the ball at least 20 times on the season.  Daniel "Boom" Herron is their primary ball carrier and he is very good and gets many of the carries inside the red zone.  Both Herron and Brandon Saine catch the ball out of the backfield a lot, tallying 13 and 18 catches respectively.  Aside from the running backs, Pryor's favorite targets are Dane Sanzenbacher and DeVier Posey, both with 43 catches on the season.  Outside of these two wide receivers, no other wide receiver has ten catches.  The offense that Iowa will face on Saturday is one very similar to their own.  A lot of "I" formation with a TE and two wide.  This week a lot of fans are doom and gloom thinking that after what Persa did to us, Pryor will have a field day, but they are not the same quarterback and the offenses are so different.  Pryor will sit in the pocket more than Persa did last week and when he does scramble he looks to pass more than Persa did.  The play that has me worried is the zone read play, if Pryor makes a good read and pulls the ball he is dangerous when he gets going north and south.  To neutralize him, the Iowa defenders will have to force him to move laterally and wait for the cavalry to bring him down.  The Buckeye offensive line is big, not Wisconsin big, but probably the second best unit that the Iowa defense has played so far this season.  They do however have trouble keeping Pryor upright, allowing on average 2 sacks per game.

When Iowa has the ball -
Ohio State boasts easily the best defense that Iowa has faced this season.  They are littered with NFL talent from the defensive line to the safeties.  While their front four is very solid, much like Iowa's this season, they haven't put up the best of stat lines, being tied for 86th in sacks and 81st in tackles for loss.  Their weak spot from what I could tell was when the opposing quarterback rolls out.  They are very talented in the linebacker corps and will use these players in a variety of ways from blitzing to coverage.  They had some trouble last week against Penn State when they ran the stretch play on cut backs, so look for Iowa to exploit that on Saturday.

What will happen -
Iowa has performed really well in games coming off of their previous two losses this season outscoring their opponents 86-7.  It's senior day for 26 seniors that if they win out will tie the Iowa record for wins in a three year stretch.  Dan Gable is the honorary captain this week and you figure that the team will come out motivated if he gives the pre-game speech.  Look for Iowa to feed off of all of these things and get out to an early lead, a problem that Ohio State has had against conference opponents this season.  The stadium will be loud and the players can help keep it that way by getting an early lead.  Once that initial emotional boost wears off is what concerns me.  Ohio State has been in this position several times already this season and if Iowa gets a lead and then has Ohio State come back, the "not again" thoughts start to creep into the players minds.  Look for the seniors on this squad to finally take the reigns of the team and lead them to a victory.

Predictions-
Iowa - 20
OSU - 17

Predictions -
Stanzi plays solid - 200+ yards 1 TD 1 INT
Robinson continues - 90+ yards 1 TD
For only the 4th time in 24 games, Iowa allows a 100 yard rusher
The Iowa defense records 4 sacks
Iowa blocks a kick
Clayborn gets a sack to seal the victory