OSU-Iowa winner gets a whiff of the Roses

COLUMBUS (AP) — Amid all the talk and headlines about how lucky Iowa was to win its first nine games, a nagging concern crept up on Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

His 2002 team was subjected to the same putdowns. Some even called that squad, which won seven games by seven or fewer points, the "Luckeyes."

And all it did was win the national championship.

Now 15th-ranked Iowa (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) and No. 10 Ohio State (8-2, 5-1) will square off on Saturday before 105,000 on senior day at Ohio Stadium with the winner guaranteed a spot in the Rose Bowl. No matter what happens a week later in the regular-season finales, the victor would grab at least a share of the Big Ten title and win all tiebreakers.