Jerome Jackson filled in for injured Michigan running back Mike Hart and wound up filling in the end zone. Jackson scored the winning touchdown for the Wolverines on a one-yard run in overtime to beat the Hawkeyes 23-20.
Iowa (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) lost at home for the first time in 22 games. The Hawkeyes forced overtime on Kyle Schlicher’s 32-yard field goal as time expired but only mustered a field goal in the extra period.
Iowa led 14-10 in the fourth quarter before Steve Breaston scored on 52-yard screen pass with 8:51 remaining. Michigan (5-3, 3-2) and Iowa then traded possessions until quarterback Drew Tate led the Hawkeyes down the field with 2:42 left to set up the game-tying field goal.
Jason Avant led Michigan’s offense with seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Hart, who has been battling a left hamstring injury all year, left the game in the first half after hurting his right ankle.
Tate turned in a solid performance in the losing effort, throwing for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 19 Wisconsin 31, Purdue 20
With Curtis Painter supplanting Brandon Kirsch and the Boilermakers leading the Badgers, it seemed Purdue had finally found its quarterback and its stride.
But with Purdue holding a 13-10 lead, Painter threw an interception Wisconsin defensive back Roderick Rogers returned 84 yards for a touchdown, and the momentum switched back to Wisconsin in a hurry.
“Rod made a great pick on the ball, made some nice cuts, took it to the house and really put momentum back in our favor,” linebacker Andy Crooks said. “They were marching down the field. If they would have scored they would have gone up 10. It was a huge play.”
When Wisconsin defensive back Jack Ikegwuonu returned another interception 62 yards with less than four minutes left, the game was sealed.
Wisconsin (7-1, 4-1) remained tied in a log jam atop the Big Ten standings with the win. The loss for Purdue (2-5, 0-4) has simply kept a season of disappointments going.
The game also was frustrating for the Boilermakers having outgained the Badgers by nearly 150 yards. Purdue held Wisconsin’s star running back Brian Calhoun to a mere 62 yards.
“If you had told me before the game we’d hold him to under 100 yards,” said Purdue defensive tackle Brandon Villarreal, “I’d have said we’d have a win.”
No. 14 Ohio State 41, Indiana 10
Ohio State went into Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday having only one win in their last six Big Ten road games. The Buckeyes didn’t just beat the Hoosiers, they demoralized them.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the receiving end of a game like that,” Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner said. “You’ve got to give credit to Ohio State.”
Quarterback Troy Smith led Ohio State (5-2, 3-1) with one touchdown in the air and two on the ground. Santonio Holmes helped with 104 receiving yards, while Antonio Pittman rushed for 133.
Indiana (4-3, 1-3) got close in the third quarter when John Pannozzo returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown, making the score 17-10, but Ohio State scored three more touchdowns while preventing the Hoosiers from scoring to close out the second half. Indiana quarterback Blake Powers did not have a touchdown pass for the first time this season.
No. 12 Penn State 63, Illinois 10
Illinois entered Memorial Stadium looking to shock the world. They left hoping they still would be in one piece.
Quarterback Michael Robinson threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more as Penn State demolished Illinois, 63-10. All of Robinson’s scores came in the first half as the Nittany Lions jumped to a 56-3 lead at the break.
“You kind of feel bad,” Robinson said. “You don’t want to do that to teams, but nobody felt bad when we were losing like that the past couple of years.”
Penn State remains in a first place tie with Wisconsin in the Big Ten.
The win broke Penn State’s record for first half points. The previous mark of 55 came in a 70-0 win over Fordham on Oct. 11, 1947. It was also the 350th of coach Joe Paterno’s career.
“Did I know it was No. 350? No,” Paterno said. “It’s nice to hear, though.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach David Kalan at [email protected].
