Penn State edges Michigan in 4th OT
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Bill Belton ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth overtime to lift Penn State past No. 18 Michigan 43-40 in maybe the biggest victory in Coach Bill O’Brien’s two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg was sensational in regulation on the tying drive, completing passes of 29 yards to Brandon Felder and 33 yards to Allen Robinson to bring the ball to the 1 with 29 seconds left.
The freshman quarterback sneaked in for the first rushing touchdown against Michigan this season, tying the game at 34.
Brendan Gibbons kicked two field goals and missed two — one was blocked — in overtime for the Wolverines (5-1, 1-1). Sam Ficken kicked two and didn’t need to attempt a fourth, thanks to fourth-and-1 conversion by Penn State on what proved to be the game’s final series.
The Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-1) stormed the field in wild celebration, sending more than 100,000 fans into a frenzy.
Hackenberg threw three touchdown passes in the first half to stake Penn State to a 21-10 lead.
In other games involving Big Ten teams, Ameer Abdullah ran for 126 yards and a touchdown to help Nebraska (51, 2-0) defeat Purdue (1-5, 0-2) 44-7 in West Lafayette, Ind. … Jeremy Langford scored four touchdowns, and Michigan
State (5-1, 2-0) recovered from an early defensive breakdown to beat Indiana (33, 1-1) 42-28 in East Lansing, Mich. … Melvin Gordon ran for a 71-yard touchdown and Chris Borland led a fierce Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) defense that figured out a high-octane offense for Northwestern (4-2, 0-2) in a 35-6 victory over the No. 19 Wildcats in Madison, Wis.
MID-AMERICAN
Lynch lifts N. Illinois DE KALB, Ill. — Jordan Lynch threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 23 Northern Illinois extended its home winning streak to 23 games with a 2720 victory over Akron.
Lynch was 16 of 35 for 220 yards passing and ran for 83 more. Cameron Stingily rushed 21 times for 80 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Wedel added field goals of 42 and 21 yards for the Huskies (6-0, 2-0).
Jawan Chisholm scored on a pair of 1-yard first-half runs for Akron (1-6, 0-3) and ran 20 times for 70 yards. Kyle Pohl was 24 of 56 for 262 yards.
The home winning streak is the nation’s current longest. A 34-31 loss to Idaho on Sept 26, 2009, was Northern Illinois’ most recent defeat at Huskie Stadium.
Akron’s road loss was its 30th in a row, also the nation’s longest current streak. The Zips beat Central Michigan 42-35 on Oct. 18, 2008, for its last road victory.
In other games involving Mid-American Conference teams, Keith Wenning threw a game-winning touchdown to Willie Snead late in the fourth quarter to help
Ball State (6-1, 3-0) prevail over Kent State (2-5, 1-3) 27-24 in Muncie, Ind. … A.J. Doyle fired a 47-yard, third-quarter touchdown pass to Rob Blanchflower to lift Massachusetts (1-5, 1-1) to a 17-10 victory over Miami (Ohio) (0-6, 0-2) in Foxborough, Mass. … Cooper Rush’s third touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to Courtney Williams with 22 seconds remaining, lifted Central Michigan (34, 2-1) to a 26-23 upset over Ohio (42, 1-1). … Joe Licata passed for three touchdowns as Buffalo (4-2, 2-0) stymied turnover-prone Western Michigan (0-7, 0-3) 33-0 in Kalamazoo, Mich. … Terry Baggett ran for four touchdowns — including a 96-yard score — and a school record 304 yards, the highest mark in Division I this season, as Army (3-4) came back to beat Eastern Michigan (1-5) 50-25 in West Point, N.Y.