– The Associated Press

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 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 Saturday.

Terrelle 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 winning drive alive.

The victory kept Ohio State tied with Wisconsin and Michigan State atop the Big Ten standings heading into next week’s showdown with rival Michigan. 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.

“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.”

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’ve let up 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.

(5) LSU 43, MISSISSIPPI 36: Jordan Jefferson passed for 254 yards, threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and LSU (10-1, 6-1 SEC) survived an upset bid by Mississippi (4-7, 1-6) at Baton Rouge, La.

LSU trailed 36-35 with 4:57 left when Patrick Peterson returned a kickoff 34 yards to midfield, setting up a winning drive that ended with Stevan Ridley’s third rushing touchdown.

(6) WISCONSIN 48, MICHIGAN 28: Montee Ball and James White combined for 354 yards rushing and six touchdowns, leading Wisconsin (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten) past Michigan (7-4, 3-4) at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Ball ran for 173 yards and four TDs. White had 181 yards rushing and two scores.

Wisconsin’s Scott Tolzien finished 14 of 15 for 201 yards with an interception.

(7) STANFORD 48, CALIFORNIA 14: Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and led Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) to scores on all eight possessions he played as the visiting Cardinal beat California (5-6, 3-5).

(18) TEXAS A7M 9, (9) NEBRASKA 6: Cyrus Gray ran for 137 yards and Randy Bullock kicked the go-ahead field goal with about 3 minutes left as Texas A&M (8-3, 5-2 Big 12) knocked off Nebraska (9-2, 5-2) at College Station, Texas.

(11) MICHIGAN STATE 35, PURDUE 31: Kirk Cousins lunged into the end zone from 3 yards out with 4:32 remaining, and Michigan State (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten) kept its Rose Bowl hopes alive by rallying for a win over Purdue (4-7, 2-5) at East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans trailed 28-13 after three quarters and 31-20 midway through the fourth, but Cousins threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mark Dell with 6:54 remaining, and a 2-point conversion made it 31-28.

Denicos Allen then blocked a punt, giving Michigan State the ball inside the 5 and setting up Cousins’ touchdown.

(12) OKLAHOMA STATE 48, KANSAS 14: Brandon Weeden passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns to lead Oklahoma State (10-1, 6-1 Big 12) to a win over Kansas (3-8, 1-6) at Lawrence, Kan.

(13) ARKANSAS 38, (22) MISSISSIPPI STATE 31: Ryan Mallett threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns, including the winner to Knile Davis in thr second overtime, and Arkansas (9-2, 5-2 SEC) beat Mississippi State (7-4, 3-4) at Starkville, Miss.

Davis rushed for 191 yards and two scores as Arkansas won its fifth straight.

(14) VIRGINIA TECH 31, (24) MIAMI 17: Ryan Williams ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 84-yarder in the fourth quarter, and visiting Virginia Tech (9-2, 7-0 ACC) beat Miami (7-4, 5-3).

(15) MISSOURI 14, IOWA STATE 0: Blaine Gabbert threw a touchdown pass and Missouri (9-2, 5-2 Big 12) turned a fake punt into another score in a victory over Iowa State (5-7, 3-5) at Ames, Iowa.

(16) OKLAHOMA 53, BAYLOR 24: DeMarco Murray turned a short pass into a long touchdown and ran for another score in the opening minutes to help Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2 Big 12) rout Baylor (7-5, 4-4) at Waco, Texas.

(17) SOUTH CAROLINA 69, TROY 24: Marcus Lattimore had three touchdowns and 102 yards rushing by halftime, leading South Carolina (8-3) past Troy (5-5) at Columbia, S.C.

(19) NEVADA 52, NEW MEXICO STATE 6: Vai Taua ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns and scored a third on a 79-yard pass to lead Nevada (10-1, 4-1 WAC) past New Mexico State (2-9, 1-6) at Reno, Nev.

OREGON STATE 36, (20) USC 7: Ryan Katz threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns and Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 128 yards and another score, leading Oregon State (5-5, 4-3 Pac-10) past Southern California (7-4, 4-4) at Corvallie, Ore.

Copy the Story Link