FanHouse Ricky Stanzi

Below, former Buckeye Raymont Harris models the uniforms Ohio State will wear this weekend.
Your eyes don't deceive you. Raymont Harris still exists, and he's modeling the new throwback uniforms the Buckeyes will be wearing for this weekend's game at Michigan. This is where all you coastal and Southern types wonder aloud how anybody can tell if a Big Ten team is wearing a throwback uniform.

Of course, Columbus is the headquarters of Abercrombie and Fitch, Victoria's Secret, The Limited, and a few other fashion-type retailers. You'd expect some swanky threads on the Buckeyes sooner or later. But what else is going on in less fashionable parts of the conference?

Ohio State is going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997. The foot of former Major League Soccer player Devin Barclay gave the Buckeyes a 27-24 overtime win over the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday. Barclay's 39-yard kick came after Ohio State picked off Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg's desperation heave on the Hawkeyes' first possession of overtime.

Vandenberg, replacing the injured Ricky Stanzi, was unimpressive last week but performed much better after a week of preparation. The two defenses essentially dominated the game until the fourth quarter when OSU started running effectively and Iowa began to throw the ball almost at will.

COLUMBUS, Ohio(AP) -- The oldest of the Buckeyes sent Ohio State back to the Granddaddy of all bowls.

Devin Barclay, a 26-year-old former pro soccer player, kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime to give No. 10 Ohio State a 27-24 victory Saturday over No. 15 Iowa and send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 years.

"None of our kids have gone to the Rose Bowl. I haven't been there in 25 years (since) I was an assistant coach in the 1985 Rose Bowl,'' coach Jim Tressel said. "There's nothing like it. It's a great feeling.''

The Buckeyes (9-2, 6-1) clinched at least a share of their fifth consecutive Big Ten title and the conference's automatic BCS bid.

"It means everything to us,'' linebacker Austin Spitler said. "Senior day, we're going to remember this for the rest of our lives. This is a special moment.''

One little loss to Northwestern can change everything. Iowa looked like the team to beat in the Big Ten title race, but now that it has fallen to the Wildcats and Ohio State has beaten Penn State, all the momentum has moved back to Columbus. Technically, both the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes control their own destiny. Whichever team wins Saturday's game is the presumptive conference champion.

Now go try to figure the odds that Iowa can win in the Horseshoe with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start with no run support to speak of.

We finally figured out what sort of misfortune Iowa's Cardiac Kids couldn't survive. They couldn't survive losing Ricky Stanzi. As a result, No. 8 Iowa fell to unranked Northwestern on Saturday, 17-10.

The junior quarterback left just before halftime after Northwestern's Corey Wootton tackled him in the end zone. Stanzi sprained his right ankle and fumbled the ball. As Northwestern's Marshall Thomas recovered the fumble for a touchdown, Stanzi remained on the Kinnick Stadium turf. He would walk off the field on his own power, but Stanzi would not return to the game. Neither would Iowa's offense.

Breathe easier, America: the Iowa Hawkeyes' luck finally ran out. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi was injured just before halftime of today's 17-10 loss to Northwestern in Iowa City. Stanzi was tackled in his own end zone by Northwestern's Corey Wootton. He sprained his right ankle and fumbled the ball. Northwestern recovered the fumble for a touchdown.

Stanzi did not return to the game. Redshirt freshman James Vandenberg, who holds most of the state of Iowa's high school passing records, replaced him. Vandenberg's first pass was intercepted by the Wildcats.

ESPN cameras showed Stanzi on crutches and in a protective boot during the second half.

Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten previews the weekend's games so Big Ten haters can get even more nervous.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the rest of the college football universe is sort of obsessed right now. They have a deep, lingering fear of Iowa winding up in the BCS Championship Game. That, to them, could only mean one of two things. The Hawkeyes could get blown out in a total snoozer. That would be bad. They could also win, which would be worse. Now what conference would they have to say is overrated? Their own?

Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten runs down the weekend's games from inside a chicken coop, at least as far as you know.

Cue the inevitable anti-Iowa backlash. A team that barely got by Arkansas State and Northern Iowa is somehow No. 1 in the nation according to the computer polls the BCS uses. Don't like it? Line forms to the left. Kirk Ferentz even agrees with you.

Shouldn't the computers' top ranked team have at least some sort of offense? Yes, of course. But whose fault is that No. 1 ranking?

Yours, you loudmouth.

Iowa and Michigan State decided to save all the excitement for the last three minutes of their game Saturday.

The Hawkeyes beat the Spartans 15-13 on a seven-yard, last-second touchdown pass from Ricky Stanzi to Marvin McNutt.

Michigan State went up 13-9 on a Kirk Cousins-to-Blair White pass that went right down the middle for 30 yards. The pass came just two plays after an unbelievable hook-and-ladder involving White and tight end Brian Linthicum.

After the kickoff Iowa had just 1:32 to find the end zone.

Every Thursday, Pickin' on the Big Ten answers the questions, questions the answers, and looks ahead to Saturday's games.

It's now indisputably late October. The leaves here in Wisconsin went from being Monet-like things of beauty to being a soggy ground-based nuisance in less time than it takes for a new Jim Tressel criticism to appear on the internet. It feels like the season just started but after this weekend it's two-thirds over.

There are so many questions yet to answer, however. I've already explored the various Big Ten title scenarios, so let's look at some of the other burning issues.