Big Ten Daily (Nov. 19): Iowa Takes Big Ten West with Win Over Illinois

Iowa earned a 15-13 win over Illinois, punching its ticket to the Big Ten Championship Game. It's been an unlikely path, but the Hawkeyes found a way to get the job done.

For the second time in three seasons, Iowa is heading to Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes secured their spot in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday with a 15-13 win over Illinois.

It's hard to believe, isn't it? A team averaging a paltry 18.5 points per game is competing for a conference title in a few weeks. Cue up the old Al Davis slogan, "Just win, baby."

The Hawkeyes used the same formula on Saturday that worked all season long. Play defense, punt the ball and pray to God your offense does just enough to win the game. To their credit, that method has worked to the tune of a 9-2 record.

Iowa's defense held Illinois to 280 yards of offense, recorded a safety and limited quarterback John Paddock to just 22-of-47 in the passing attack.

The Hawkeyes' Tory Taylor punted eight times for 413 yards. 

A short pass from Deacon Hill to Addison Ostrenga capped a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to give Iowa a 9-3 lead in the second quarter. 

Illinois responded, putting together a 10-play, 75-yard drive to retake the lead at halftime. The Illini then tacked on a 29-yard field goal to take a 13-9 advantage.

Midway through the fourth quarter is when Iowa hit its one big play. Kaleb Johnson sliced through the Illinois defense for a 30-yard touchdown run, giving the Hawkeyes a 15-13 lead with less that five minutes to play. It was enough to secure a win and a division crown.

As ugly as it has been to watch Iowa this season — and it has been ugly — give the Hawkeyes serious credit. Iowa found ways to win football games with one of the worst offensive units in college football. They scored enough points to win games with tight ends Erick All and Luke Lachey suffering injuries. Starting quarterback Cade McNamara has missed a majority of the season. And on Saturday, the Hawkeyes played without All-Big Ten defensive back and return specialist Cooper DeJean.

All season, Iowa has been mocked (rightfully so) for its 1956-style offense. In the end, it found a way to reach the Big Ten Championship Game. Nobody in Iowa City cares how it looked.

Is TreVeyon Henderson a Threat to Michigan?

One of the biggest concerns about Ohio State's offense this season is its struggles in the run game. But over the last four games, the Buckeyes seem to be putting something more formidable together, and a big reason is TreVeyon Henderson.

In Ohio State's 37-3 victory over Minnesota on Saturday, Henderson rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. His 9.73 yards per carry average was his best output in Big Ten play this season.

Henderson has now eclipsed the century mark three times in the last four games. He's also reached the end zone at least once in each of those contests.

No, this isn't your typical Ohio State run game. The offensive line continues to show signs of weakness, and the Buckeyes lack the consistency on the ground that we've seen in previous seasons.

But can Henderson and this front line do enough to give Michigan problems? Earlier this year, it seemed like the Buckeyes might have to depend solely on Kyle McCord, Marvin Harrison Jr. and a heavy passing attack to win games. At times, that's been the case.

Henderson seems to be getting more and more comfortable as the weeks go on, though. He seems to be playing his best football when the Buckeyes need him the most.

The Big Ten Bowl Picture

Two more Big Ten teams punched their postseason tickets on Saturday. Northwestern earned a 23-15 win over Purdue and Wisconsin took down Nebraska 24-17 in overtime.

The conference now has eight teams eligible for the postseason: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin. 

Three teams enter the final week of the season at 5-6, needing one more victory to get to a bowl game: Illinois (vs. Northwestern), Minnesota (vs. Wisconsin) and Nebraska (vs. Iowa).

Related Big Ten Stories

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• INDIANA LOSES TO MICHIGAN STATE: The Old Brass Spittoon heads back to East Lansing after the Hoosiers made some costly mistakes in Saturday's rivalry game with the Spartans. CLICK HERE