Michigan RB Thomas Rawls celebrates after scoring a touchdown in a 35-13 win over Minnesota on Saturday. (US Presswire) |
Penn State 34, Purdue 9: The Nittany Lions (6-4, 4-1) rolled to their sixth win in their last seven games as Matt McGloin threw for 316 yards and two scores. Regular starting RB Bill Belton played sparingly but HBs Zach Zwinak (134 yards) and Michael Zordich (33 yards, two touchdowns) more than made up for his absence. The Boilermakers (3-6, 0-5) continue to spiral downwards, dropping to 0-5 in conference play for the first time since 2005 and putting coach Danny Hope's job in jeopardy.
No. 21 Nebraska 28, Michigan State 24: Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to WR Jamal Turner with six seconds left to give the Huskers (7-2, 4-1) the victory over Michigan State (5-5, 2-4). Martinez ran for 205 yards on 17 carries, highlighted by touchdown runs of 71 and 35 yards. Spartans RB Le'Veon Bell bulled his way to 188 yards, but the Spartans couldn't capitalize on three Martinez interceptions and weren't able to overcome numerous costly penalties. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 6 Ohio State 52, Illinois 22: The Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0) were down 3-0 to Illinois (2-7, 0-5) but scored 38 of the next 41 points. RB Carlos Hyde continued to pound opposing defenses, running for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Braxton Miller had a relatively quiet rushing day (73 yards, a touchdown) by his standards but threw for 226 yards and two scores. CB Travis Howard intercepted Nathan Scheelhaase to give him four interceptions this season, which is tied for the most in the Big Ten. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
Indiana 24, Iowa 21: The Hoosiers (4-5, 2-3) rallied from a 21-17 fourth-quarter deficit to win their second consecutive Big Ten game and stay in the race for a Big Ten championship game berth. Cameron Coffman hit Cody Latimer for a 30-yard score with 10:58 remaining to give Indiana the lead and the Hoosiers' defense held on against the Hawkeyes (4-5, 2-3). Latimer had seven catches for 113 yards and three touchdowns, all of which came from Coffman, who split time at quarterback with Nate Sudfeld all afternoon.
Michigan 35, Minnesota 13: The Wolverines (6-3, 4-1) kept their hopes of a Legends Division title alive when they retained the Little Brown Jug with another win over the rival Gophers (5-4, 1-4). Michigan QB Denard Robinson, who has an injured nerve in his right throwing arm, didn't play but backup Devin Gardner was 12 of 18 for 234 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Gardner, who had moved to receiver in the offseason, also rushed for 21 yards and a score. Minnesota QB Philip Nelson threw for 142 yards and a touchdown and added 37 yards on 12 carries.
(Video courtesy of Big Ten Network)
Play of the day: The Wolverines were in trouble and faced a long third down near midfield when Gardner flipped the game. The dynamic athlete rolled right before reversing field amid heavy pressure and threw 45-yards to wide open WR Drew Dileo to tie the game 7-7 early in the second quarter. Michigan never looked back.
He said (tweeted) what? Michigan State RB Bell was unhappy with the officiating in the Spartans' home game against Nebraska. After the tough loss, he tweeted:
I foresee a Dantonio Twitter ban shortly. RT @l_bell24 #ShoutOut to the refs...yall won the game tonight! Toughest team we played all year..
-- CBSSportsBigTen (@CBSSportsBigTen) November 4, 2012
Bell's tweet has been subsequently deleted but with RapidReports' suggestion, it will remain in the Twittersphere forever.
RapidReports defensive star of the day: Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard intercepted QB Martinez twice, including once with the Spartans' backs against the goal line. Dennard jumped an out route to Nebraska TE Ben Cotton and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown but the play was called back due to a Spartans penalty. His first interception came when Martinez overthrew a deep route along the right side and Dennard juggled it before returning the ball 30 yards to the Huskers' 38-yard line. The Spartans' defense allowed just 160 passing yards.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: Ohio State RB Hyde ran for 137 yards and three scores as he took over the Big Ten lead with 14 total touchdowns. Hyde has 12 touchdowns in his past five games. He joins Miller and Wisconsin RB Montee Ball as the Big Ten leader with 13 rushing touchdowns.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Jerry Kill, Minnesota. The second-year coach made several questionable decisions but none more dubious than his call to run a fake FG on fourth-and-16 from the Wolverines' 19-yard line. The Gophers were down 14-7 and were well within K Jordan Wettstein's range. Curiously, Kill later opted for a FG try with the ball on the Michigan 2-yard line, down 18 points with just over five minutes remaining in the game. The Gophers are 5-4 but have lost four of five Big Ten games.
A possible spot on the bench for: QB Robinson. Coach Brady Hoke spent all week telling reporters how well Robinson was recovering from an elbow injury he suffered last weekend against Nebraska. On Friday, Hoke even said Robinson was expected to start. Well, Robinson didn't play, and his fill-in, Gardner, looked comfortable in the pocket after throwing an interception on the Wolverines' second series. Even if Robinson is healthy enough to return, Gardner may be better suited as Michigan's quarterback, and Robinson could be a nightmare for defenses in a wide reciever-halfback hybrid role.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. (US Presswire) |
Why you care about these four stats:
- Martinez sets offensive record: QB Martinez' 365 total yards Saturday gave him a 8,166 offensive yards in his career at Nebraska, moving him past former Heisman-winner Eric Crouch and into first place in program history.
- McGloin sets Penn State record: McGloin's 316 passing yards marked the fifth time he's surpassed the 300-yard plateau, a new Penn State record. McGloin also set a school record with his seventh-consecutive 200-plus yard passing day, breaking former NFL great Kerry Collins' mark.
- Michigan State loses another close one: The Spartans are 2-4 in conference play and their four losses are by 2.5 points per game. Their two conference wins have been by an average of 3.5 points.
- Indiana gets win at home: The 24-21 victory over Iowa marked Indiana's first Big Ten home victory since Oct. 17, 2009 against Illinois. Indiana had lost 12-straight conference home games.
Key number: 2. Touchdown drives of 90-plus yards by Michigan in a 35-13 win over Minnesota. It's only the third time in school history the Wolverines had multiple drives of 90 or more yards in the same game.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big Ten bloggers Dave Carey and Mike Singer, follow @CBSSportsBigTen.