Purdue 35, Minnesota 28 (OT): Purdue freshman quarterback Brandon Hance looked a lot like his predecessor, Drew Brees, in the Boilermakers’ 35-28 come-from-behind overtime win at Minnesota.
Purdue overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game into the extra session. Hance hit wideout John Standeford for the 19-yard game-winning touchdown pass on Purdue’s first overtime possession. To end regulation, Hance drove the Boilermakers 63 yards in 18 seconds to set up the game-tying field goal.
Hance went 22 of 36 for 306 yards, but he threw two interceptions.
Michigan 45, Illinois 20: Michigan turned to a little bit of trickery to break open Saturday’s game and blow past Illinois 45-20 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Trailing 3-0 early in the game, Wolverines backup quarterback Jermaine Gonzales threw a lateral to Marquise Walker, who proceeded to connect with Gonzales on a 51-yard pass of his own across the field. Two plays later, tailback Walter Cross threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Walker.
Calvin Bell’s 28-yard reverse gave the Wolverines a commanding 28-10 halftime lead.
The win was Michigan’s 20th straight in Big Ten openers, while Illinois hasn’t won its opening conference game since 1993.
Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner had a strong performance, going 20 of 39 for 244 yards and a 4-yard touchdown run. Michigan starting quarterback John Navarre was a quiet 13-for-26 for 187 yards.
Iowa 24, Penn State 18: As if once again missing Paul “Bear” Bryant’s career wins record isn’t painful enough for Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno, his team’s 0-3 start matches the worst of his career.
Iowa overcame a mistake-ridden game to knock off Penn State 24-18 in Iowa.
The Hawkeyes allowed Penn State to score a touchdown on a blocked punt and a safety when punter David Bradley bobbled the snap in his own end zone. Iowa kicker Nate Kaeding also had a field goal blocked.
Hawkeyes quarterback Kyle McCann led his team to an early lead and ended the game 16 of 25 for 225 yards.
Despite showing more potency than in its two previous losses, Penn State still struggled offensively. Starting quarterback Matt Senneca left early in the game with a shoulder injury and the Nittany Lions finished with just 188 total yards.
Ohio State 27, Indiana 14: Despite Indiana’s 27-14 home loss to Ohio State on Saturday, Hoosiers’ quarterback Antwaan Randle El still had something to smile about after the game.
He became the the first player in college football history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 6,000 yards.
The story of the day for Ohio State was freshman tailback Lydell Ross. In his first start, Ross ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
After an ugly showing last weekend at UCLA, Buckeyes quarterback Steve Bellisari came back with a clean performance. He was 15 of 21 for 194 yards and threw no interceptions.
Wisconsin 24, Western Kentucky 6: Wisconsin used an impressive defensive performance to top Division I-AA Western Kentucky 24-6 on Saturday. The Badgers held the Hilltoppers to just 143 total yards, only 28 of them in the air.
Wisconsin freshman tailback Anthony Davis ran for just 89 yards, but he had two touchdowns.
Badgers starting quarterback Brooks Bollinger shared time with backup Jim Sorgi. Bollinger was just 3 of 10 for 50 yards, but also ran for 44 yards. Sorgi finished 7 of 12 for 91 yards.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
