Ohio State Clinches Share of Fifth Straight Big Ten Title

With at least a share of the 2009 Big Ten Championship and the conference’s Bowl Championship Series (BCS) automatic berth on the line, Iowa and Ohio State needed an extra period to determine a winner.

The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes, two of the nation's top teams, entered the game atop the standings and both boasted wins over Penn State and Wisconsin, which meant the victor held the tiebreaker advantage to earn the automatic spot in the BCS. Both the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes have FieldTurf at their home stadiums so the game at 'The Horseshoe' was fitting for both as Iowa and Ohio State are both extremely familiar wiht the player-friendly surface that has become the choice of top teams at every level.

OSU jumped out to a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead at Ohio Stadium, only to see the visitors rally for two touchdowns. Backup redshirt freshman quarterback James Vandenbergh, playing for injured starter Ricky Stanzi, connected on a scoring toss to knot the score at 24-24 with less than three minutes remaining. After Iowa failed on their overtime possession, another backup stepped up. Kicker Devin Barclay, a 26-year-old former pro soccer player and walk-on playing for injured kicker Aaron Pettrey, connected on a 39-yard field goal to give the Buckeyes the victory, a share of their fifth straight Big Ten title and a trip to a BCS game.

Congratulations to the Buckeyes on their 5th Big Ten Championship in a row!