Players Preview Saturday’s Home Finale with Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Members of the Buckeyes met with OhioStateBuckeyes.com and the local media Tuesday evening after practice to talk about last week’s win over Penn State and to preview Saturday’s Big Ten showdown against No. 10 Iowa (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) where Ohio State can clinch a share of its fifth straight Big Ten championship with a win.
Players included DeVier Posey, Brandon Saine and Kurt Coleman. You can also watch a video clip of reigning Big Ten and national defensive player of the week Cameron Heyward from Tuesday’s media luncheon.
IOWA AT A GLANCE
The Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday losing 17-10 at home to Northwestern. In the process, Iowa also lost its starting quarterback, junior Ricky Stanzi, to an ankle injury. Redshirt freshman James Vandenberg will most likely get the nod this week. Despite the loss, Iowa remains in the hunt for the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Defensively, sophomore Tyler Sash leads the conference in interceptions with six, including one for a touchdown. Senior Pat Angerer is second in the league with 106 total tackles. As a team, the Hawkeyes rank first in the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense (94.3) and third in total defense, giving up just 291.7 yards per game.
Junior Daniel Murray has been the most consistent kicker in the Big Ten this season, making good on 15-of-21 attempts (71.4 percent) for an average of 1.5 makes per game.
Kirk Ferentz is in his 11th season in Iowa City with a 79-54 record and a 91-75 mark overall in 14 seasons as a head coach. He has guided the Hawkeyes to seven bowl games, including one BCS appearance — the 2003 Orange Bowl.
SERIES RECORD
This will be the 62nd meeting between Iowa and Ohio State in a series that began in 1922. The Buckeyes have a 44-14-3 lead thus far and have are 27-8-1 in all games played in Columbus. Ohio State has won 10 of the last 11 games dating back to 1992. Iowa’s 33-7 win in 2004 in Iowa City snapped an eight-game OSU winning streak. The Buckeyes won the last meeting, 38-17, in Iowa City during the 2006 campaign.
Iowa posted a 3-0-1 record in the first four games of the series and recorded three shutouts in that span. Ohio State won 19 of 20 games between 1963 and 1980.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Ohio State’s defense has allowed just eight touchdowns over its last 35 quarters of play
- Ohio State leads the nation in three-and-outs with 60 through 10 games
- The Buckeyes have won 84 games since 2002, the fourth best among FBS schools
