Before I start on the good, bad, etc., let's give all the credit we can to the Iowa Hawkeyes. I gave them more than a "chance" in this game, and many did not. Say what you want about the dropped INTs Vandenberg threw; dude also watched two touchdowns - one actual, a second potential - get dropped. He played better than most expected. The rest of the Hawkeyes get credit, too, but I'm not sure exactly where to give it. Their defense surrendered 200 yards on the ground, Trey Stross dropped two potential touchdowns.... I guess Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was pretty much awesome as well, and the front seven did a very good job of hemming Pryor in.

Not awesome: Kirk Ferentz. I'm sorry, but Ohio State was reeling at the end of the game, after that last awful, awful Thoma punt. One long pass and a field goal, and Iowa has its best win in the last 30-some odd years. I am pissed off to an unthinkable degree right now if I'm a Hawkeye fan about this, but perhaps an actual Hawkeye fan can explain this for me.

Still, Iowa is, unquestionably, the second best team in the Big Ten, and will make an excellent, excellent representative of this conference in whatever bowl they wind up in. Good luck, Hawkeyes.

Now, onto us... where I won't be quite so courteous:

The Good

- I think the offensive line was very, very good for about 3.5 quarters. Two straight weeks they've taken on two of the Big Ten's best DLs, and they came away winners against both. 200 yards rushing for four straight weeks basically makes them the best run-blocking OL we've seen in some time.

- Terrelle Pryor did not look bad, and was far from average when Ohio State needed him most, and thus, he gets the nod here. The stats are not pretty, but he kept a few drives alive that would have otherwise died bloody deaths. More on this Pryor dynamic later.

- The defensive line had its second-worst game of the season as a unit, but I thought the DTs did a fairly good job limiting the Iowa rushing attack by occupying the guards and forcing the backs outside, where the linebackers - being their usual swarming selves - could end the play then and there.

- Saine and Herron are both finally becoming the backs we thought they'd be heading into the season.

The Bad

- The playcalling today was... lackluster. I'm being nice. Not only were we conservative, but often needlessly so. Before the half, you have to try for some points. Late in the fourth, you have to try for some points. Both failures of creativiy helped keep this game close. Even after last week, this staff has no apparent faith whatsoever in Terrelle Pryor's arm, and that is killing this offense. I have nothing against TP voicing these concerns with Tress, but I do wish he'd make it a little less public.

- My fears about this secondary were pretty much confirmed today; these guys live and die with the play of the defensive line. Most secondaries do, I guess, but these guys are particularly prone to coverage breakdowns when the front four isn't crushing the quarterback instantly. See: Navy, Wisconsin, Purdue, and now Iowa. I'm a little anxious to see how the line does against Michigan, as Forcier is more mobile than Elliot and Vandenberg, and can make throws on the run with ease. This is by no means a guaranteed win coming up in Ann Arbor.

- Special teams were terrible today. Yes, you can point to Barclay's made field goals, but that kick return was brutal, as was Barclay's lone miss. Jon Thoma had the worst day of any Buckeye punter that I can remember under JT.

The Downright Confusing

- Just what is it that the staff wants to do with Terrelle Pryor? Do they really want him to be another Craig Krenzel, who's just mistake-free enough to preserve the sloppy win, or do they want him to be Vince  Young? Obviously, being rational beings, I'm sure they prefer the latter, but Pryor is finally actually showing some degree of aptitude in the passing game (dropped passes vs. PSU bedamned) , and the staff still seems to be trying to hem him in. I'm not sure he would have lit Iowa up, but I'm also not sure attempting 17 passes for 94 yards is a good thing for his development.

Of course, they're coaches, and they're paid the big bucks for a reason, and any team I'd coach would be screwed from the get-go.... but today would not have been a bad day to keep Pryor's confidence up heading into Michigan.

In the end, we got what I expected: a dogfight. I anticipated a late turnover or two that would seal the game for Ohio State, and that didn't quite happen. The dominant, game-clinching defensive effort I expected at some point didn't materialize until it was almost too late. The Hawkeyes are far, far better than most give them credit for, and this is definitely another quality win to add to Jim Tressel's resumé. But let's not get too laudatory: this team has some clear weaknesses. Michigan is probably not good enough to actually exploit them. But our Rose Bowl opponent almost certainly will be, and that means there is work to be done. Sure, go ahead, smell the roses....

.... but let's stop well short of pretending everything is rosy. (Ha, get it?! Alright, fine, I'll get back in the locker.)