The Big Ten saw another exciting weekend as four of the conference’s six games were decided by six points or fewer. Both Wisconsin and Ohio State remained perfect in conference action, while the Badgers and Iowa remained undefeated overall.
Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 28
John Clay rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns as Wisconsin beat Minnesota 31-28 on Saturday for the Badgers’ sixth straight win against the Golden Gophers.
Clay scored his final touchdown with three minutes remaining to put the Badgers (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) up 31-21. Duane Bennett scored less than a minute later with a one-yard run for Minnesota (3-2, 1-1), but the Badgers hung on for the win.
Northwestern 27, Purdue 21
Northwestern’s Mike Kafka scored on a quarterback keeper with 2:09 remaining in the game and the Wildcats held off a Purdue comeback bid, as Northwestern beat Purdue 27-21 on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. On fourth and goal in the game’s final seconds, Purdue’s Joey Elliott overthrew Aaron Valentin in the end zone to end the game.
Purdue (1-4,0-1) led late in the fourth, but its sixth turnover of the game allowed Northwestern (3-2, 1-1) to take its first lead of the game on Kafka’s two-yard run.
Penn State 35, Illinois 17
Running backs Stephfon Green and Evan Royster each rushed for more than 100 yards and No. 15 Penn State put up 338 yards on the ground, as the Nittany Lions beat Illinois 35-17 for their first Big Ten win.
Green (120 yards) and Royster (105) each scored for Penn State (4-1, 1-1), while quarterback Daryll Clark rushed for 83 yards and scored twice on the ground.
Ohio State 33, Indiana 14
Terrelle Pryor threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another, as No. 9 Ohio State beat Indiana 33-14 on Saturday at Indiana’s Memorial Stadium. Pryor finished with 159 yards on 16-for-27 passing, while adding 63 yards on 16 carries, as the Buckeyes (4-1, 2-0) extended their winning streak against the Hoosiers (3-2, 0-2) to 15.
Iowa 24, Arkansas State 21
Ricky Stanzi threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns as No. 13 Iowa beat Arkansas State, 24-21, to give the Hawkeyes their best start in 14 years.
The Hawkeyes (5-0, 1-0) were ahead 21-7 heading into the fourth quarter but allowed Arkansas State (1-3) to come back in the final quarter.
The Red Wolves scored two touchdowns in the fourth — including one with 2:01 remaining — but a Daniel Murray 20-yard field goal with 10 minutes left proved to be the difference.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
