By Michael SchlossbergThe Daily Northwestern
Penn State 28, Minnesota 27 (OT)
Minnesota kicker Jason Gianinni picked a bad time to miss his second extra point of the season.
After scoring a touchdown in its opening possession of overtime, Minnesota (0-3, 2-4 Big Ten) took a 27-21 lead over Penn State (4-2, 2-1). However, Gianinni severely hooked his extra point off the left upright, his second miss in 24 attempts this season. The missed extra point allowed Penn State to win the game when it scored a touchdown on its ensuing possession and converted the extra point for a 28-27 victory.
After the game, Gianinni was unavailable for comment.
“What do you do to console him?” Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. “I’m sure he’s down. You expect to make those things, but that’s why you kick it, because it’s not automatic. I feel for the kid.”
No. 19 Iowa 47, Purdue 17
After listening to questions all week long about its ability to regroup after getting crushed at home by Ohio State, Iowa (5-1, 2-1) finally got a chance to respond Saturday, letting its 47-17 rout of Purdue (4-2, 1-1) do the talking.
Iowa held an explosive Purdue offense in check all game, allowing the Hawkeyes’ offense to have a field day with a weak Purdue defense.
Following a frustrating performance against Ohio State, quarterback Drew Tate completed 17 of 23 passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“We didn’t lose the last game and mope,” Tate said. “We wanted to respond this week, and we did. And we did it real well. We’re not bad when we’re clicking.”
Tate’s counterpart, Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter, struggled against a swarming Hawkeye defense. Entering the game as the nation’s fifth-best passer, Painter completed only 22 of 46 passes and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned 98 yards for a Hawkeye touchdown.
No. 1 Ohio State 35, Bowling Green 7
After enduring a brutal opening month of its season, Ohio State (6-0, 2-0) started off a more promising month of October no differently than September – with a win. While closer than many anticipated, Ohio State eventually came away with a 35-7 victory.
Quarterback Troy Smith completed 17 of 20 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns. His 85-percent completion rate was the third best ever for an Ohio State quarterback.
Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. caught 10 balls for 122 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown strike in the fourth quarter.
While most of the 105,000 fans that packed into Ohio Stadium were expecting a blowout, Ohio State started the fourth quarter only leading 21-7 before tacking on a pair of touchdowns.
“I was think today was worthwhile, but not wonderful,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.
No. 6 Michigan 31, Michigan State 13
Michigan State (3-3, 0-2) did little to take any heat off of coach John L. Smith. After being heavily criticized for home losses against Notre Dame and Illinois, Smith and his team lost its third consecutive game, a 31-13 drubbing at the hands of in-state rival Michigan (6-0, 3-0).
Michigan’s gameplan was to run the ball early and often. The Wolverines ran the ball 42 times on Saturday, compared to only 17 passes, and managed 211 yards on the ground.
Mike Hart, the Big Ten’s leading rusher, ran for 122 yards, surpassing the century mark for the fifth time in six games this season.
“We do have confidence that we can run the football,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. “We feel like we can run it even when they have a lot of guys stacked up there.”
Indiana 34, Illinois 32
Just one week after winning on a game-winning field goal, Illinois (2-4, 1-1) learned how it feels to be on the opposite side.
Indiana kicker Austin Starr kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 34-32 and give Indiana (3-3, 1-1) its first conference road victory in two years.
Having lost 24 of its last 25 Big Ten games before last Saturday, Illinois appeared to be in position to win consecutive conference games.
After jumping out to an early 25-7 lead in the second quarter, Illinois scored just once in the second half.
Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis led a 65-yard drive that culminated in Starr’s field goal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach Michael Schlossberg at
Penn State-Minnesota
After the missed extra point, Minnesota still appeared to be in good position for a victory, with Penn State facing a fourth-and-nine from the 24. The officials, however, awarded Penn State a first down on a questionable pass-interference call.
“I thought we made the play, the game was over, and I was halfway across the field and saw the flag fly,” Mason said of the penalty. “I hope it was a blatant foul on my guy. I hope that.”
Iowa-Purdue
“We had our defense play some tremendous football, particularly in the first half,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “And I thought our offense came out better than at any point this year.”
“This week we took a step in reverse,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
OSU
“There’s always something special about playing with a childhood friend,” Smith said. “Especially here at this level.”
MSU-Mich
Quarterback Chad Henne completed 11 of 17 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Mario Manningham was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns, catching three balls for 75 yards. Manningham has eight touchdowns in his last four games.
“That’s an awfully good football team, and we would have had to play a lot better than we did to win the game,” Smith said.
