Quarterback John Stocco scored on a 4-yard draw with 24 seconds left to cap a 17-point rally in Wisconsin’s 23-20 upset of the No. 14 Wolverines. Stocco’s keeper raised many eyebrows at first, even those of Stocco himself.

“I was a little surprised by the call,” Stocco said. “But it was unbelievable.”

The win was the first for Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez against Michigan’s Lloyd Carr, in their last meeting. Carr had won the previous six times.

Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) pulled off the victory despite being out gained 401 yards to 287. The Badgers offense was led by halfback Brian Calhoun, who had 155 yards and a touchdown.

“I said coming into this year that he’s the total package,” Alvarez said. “He has it all – sprinter’s speed, soft hands and he makes you miss. He’s carried as much as Ronny (Dayne). I don’t know that you can find someone who can do it any better than he can.”

Michigan (2-2, 0-1) , which has dropped out of the Associated Press for the first time in 114 weeks, won the last four meetings by an average of 4.5 points. They seemed poised to escape with a win again after Chad Henne’s 49-yard flea flicker to freshman Mario Manningham with nine minutes left, but the Badgers held on in Alvarez’s swan song against the Wolverines.

Henne had 258 yards passing and two touchdowns, while wide receivers Manningham and Jason Avant both had more than 100 yards receiving.

No. 8 Ohio State 31, No. 21 Iowa 6

Ohio State (3-1, 1-0) made it clear the Big Ten was theirs to lose with a 31-6 trouncing of the No. 21 Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1), avenging last year’s 33-7 embarrassment in Iowa City.

The Buckeyes outgained the Hawkeyes 530 yards to 137, after averaging 428 yards per game. A dominant Ohio State defense held Iowa to -9 yards rushing and sacked quarterback Drew Tate five times. By the time Iowa ran its first play in Ohio State territory, the Buckeyes had opened up a 24-0 lead.

“It was pretty much a one-sided football game both ways,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith put any end to a quarterback controversy in Columbus by throwing for two touchdown passes, both to Anthony Gonzalez, and running for two more with 127 yards rushing.

When asked what his biggest concern about the game was, a frustrated Ferentz responded, “Getting home safely.”

Minnesota 42, No. 11 Purdue 35

After playing a soft non-conference schedule Minnesota (4-0, 1-0) answered its critics with a double-overtime victory over the then-No. 11 Boilermakers. It was Gophers’ head coach Glen Mason’s first win against Purdue (2-1, 0-1) in seven tries, including a 2001 meeting when Purdue topped Minnesota in overtime.

“I hate overtime,” Mason said. “I love double overtime.”

After giving up an average of 16 yards rushing in its first two games, the Boilermakers surrendered 301 yards to the Gophers. Halfback Laurence Maroney thrust himself into the Heisman race with 96 yards in the first quarter alone and 217 overall.

“The run came at them very, very fast,” Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack said. “It took us a while to get used to that speed. They run the football better than any team I’ve seen in a long time.”

In a see-saw battle, Minnesota lost a 10-point lead and Purdue later lost an eight-point advantage. The Boilermakers’ Brandon Kirsch threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. He was bested by the Gophers’ Brian Cupito, who shook off three interceptions to throw for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 17 Michigan State 61, Illinois 14

After cracking the rankings last week, the Spartans (4-0, 1-0) showed they may stick around for a while by beating up on Illinois (2-2, 0-1), 61-14. Illini coach Ron Zook’s Big Ten debut saw his team get smacked around in a historic romp for Michigan State. “I apologize to all the Illini fans,” Zook said. “We didn’t coach very well and we didn’t play very well.”

The Spartans set school records with seven touchdowns and 705 total offensive yards on an afternoon coach John L. Smith called, “a pretty good day.”

Quarterback Drew Stanton also set a record with five touchdown passes. Running back Javon Ringer led the ground attack with 194 yards on just 13 carries. The 61 points for Michigan State was its most since hanging 76 on Northwestern in 1989. Things got so embarrassing for the Illini that they fell for the same trick play on consecutive plays late in the first half.

“There’s really no way to put a finger on it,” Illini linebacker J Leman said. “It was just awful, awful. Pathetic.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach David Kalan at [email protected].