Pryor, OSU escape against Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Fourth down, 10 yards and most likely the season was on the line for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes put the ball in Terrelle Pryor's hands, and Pryor 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.

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.”

Pryor finished with 78 yards rushing on 15 carries and survived a pair of interceptions.

“It was huge and gave us that momentum,” Tressel said of Pryor's fourth-down conversion. “I was afraid he was messing around and wasn't going to get the first, but he made it.”

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 to 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've let up a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of each of their defeats.

The game went to the fourth quarter tied at 10-10. The Buckeyes blinked first then rallied behind Pryor for its 12th win in 13 tries over the disappointing Hawkeyes.