IOWA CITY, Iowa — Fourth down, 10 yards to go and most likely the season was on the line for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes put the ball in Terrelle Pryor’s hands, and he used his legs to help them escape from Iowa with their Rose Bowl hopes intact for another week.
Dan Herron rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:47 left and No. 8 Ohio State rallied to beat Iowa 20-17 on Saturday.
Pryor threw for 195 yards and a touchdown for the Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten), including a crucial 14-yard run on fourth down to keep the game-winning drive alive.
“I was going to run the whole time,” Pryor said. “I found running room, had some good blocking. I just cut it up and went and got the first.”
The win kept Ohio State tied with Wisconsin and Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings heading into Saturday’s showdown with rival Michigan in the Horseshoe. It also preserved the Buckeyes’ chances for at least a share of the Big Ten title for a record-tying sixth year in a row.
No. 21 Iowa (7-4, 4-3) went ahead 17-10 early in the fourth quarter on freshman Marcus Coker’s 1-yard TD run. But Devin Barclay’s 48-yard field goal brought the Buckeyes within 17-13, and Pryor engineered a 76-yard drive despite DeVier Posey’s drop of a sure TD pass.
Ricky Stanzi had 195 yards passing and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes, who have allowed a go-ahead winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of each of their defeats.
The game went to the fourth quarter tied at 10. The Buckeyes blinked first — then rallied behind Pryor for its 12th win in 13 tries over the Hawkeyes.
Pryor threw an errant ball over the middle that was tipped, picked off by Shaun Prater and returned to the Ohio State 27-yard line. Coker, in for a struggling Adam Robinson, followed a 26-yard run with a 1-yard plunge to put the Hawkeyes ahead 17-10 with 11:53 left.
Barclay pulled Ohio State within 17-13 with a 48-yarder with 7:38 left, and the Buckeyes forced the Hawkeyes into a quick three-and-out.
That’s when Pryor redeemed himself.
