No. 5 Michigan State routs Penn State; takes division
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Connor Cook and Michigan State rolled into the Big Ten title game with their most emphatic win of the season.
Cook threw three touchdown passes in his return from a shoulder injury, and the sixthranked Spartans wrapped up a division title with a 55-16 rout of Penn State on Saturday. Michigan State will play unbeaten Iowa for the conference title next weekend, with the winner in good position to advance to college football’s playoff.
The Spartans finished tied atop the Big Ten East with Ohio State, and Michigan State upset the Buckeyes last weekend with Cook on the sideline. The senior came back Saturday and was brilliant against Penn State (7-5, 4-4). Cook went 19 of 26 for 248 yards.
Michigan State will play in the Big Ten title game for the third time in five seasons. The Spartans kept the LandGrant Trophy with their most lopsided win in a series with Penn State that started in 1914. The final touchdown came on a 9-yard run by Michigan State center Jack Allen, who lined up in the backfield, took a handoff from Cook and capped his last home game in memorable fashion.
Ohio State, which easily beat Michigan earlier Saturday, was holding out hope that Penn State would spoil the regular season finale in East Lansing, but the Nittany Lions didn’t come close.
Penn State moved the ball well in the first half but two turnovers earned Michigan State a comfortable lead. Arjen Colquhoun intercepted a pass in the end zone on the game’s first drive, and the Spartans turned that takeaway into a touchdown when Cook threw a 29-yard pass to R.J. Shelton.
The extra point was no good, and Penn State kicked a short field goal early in the second quarter, but Michigan State went ahead 13-3 on a 6-yard touchdown run by Gerald Holmes. Then Demetrious Cox of the Spartans picked up a fumble and returned it 77 yards for another TD.
It was 20-10 at halftime, and the Spartans scored the only two touchdowns of the third quarter. Cook threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Aaron Burbridge to make it 27-10. Burbridge came back in from out of bounds, but officials ruled he was forced out. He caught the pass around the 10, bounced off one defender and spun past another before diving into the end zone.
It was 41-16 in the fourth when Malik McDowell intercepted a pass that had bounced off fellow defensive lineman Shilique Calhoun. McDowell ran it back 13 yards for a TD.
After a Penn State fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the Spartans the ball at the 9, Cook took the field and started motioning for the crowd to get louder. He handed off to Allen and the Nittany Lions couldn’t stop the 296-pound lineman as he rumbled to the end zone.
No. 4 Iowa 28, Nebraska 20: Jordan Canzeri broke long touchdown runs on back-to-back series in the third quarter, and No. 4 Iowa completed its first perfect regular season in 93 years with a victory over Nebraska on Friday.
The Hawkeyes (12-0, 8-0) were far from dominant but good enough against the sloppy Cornhuskers (5-7, 3-5) on a raw afternoon. As one of two remaining unbeaten teams, they’ll head to next week’s Big Ten championship game in the middle of the College Football Playoff race.
Canzeri ran off left tackle two straight times for two touchdowns, the first one going 29 yards and the second 68 yards for a 28-17 lead. Canzeri finished with 140 yards on 17 carries.
Iowa picked off Tommy Armstrong Jr. four times, with defensive end Parker Hesse returning one 4 yards for the Hawkeyes’ fourth interception for a touchdown this season.
The Huskers needed a win to assure bowl eligibility.
Indiana 54, Purdue 36: Nate Sudfeld threw for four touchdowns and Devine Redding ran for a career-high 144 yards Saturday to help Indiana pull away from Purdue and become bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.
The Hoosiers (6-6, 2-6) won the Old Oaken Bucket for the third straight time — their longest winning streak in the series since taking four straight from 1944-47.
Indiana did it by winning back-to-back road games for the first time since 2007 and back-to-back road games in league play for the first time since 1993.
Austin Appleby threw for 332 yards and two TDs and ran for two scores, while Markell Jones rushed for 96 yards with a touchdown and broke Purdue’s single season rushing record by a freshman.
The Boilermakers (2-10, 1-7) lost their last four.
Indiana sealed the win with Sudfeld’s 72-yard TD pass to Andre Booker with 10:15 to go.
Maryland 46, Rutgers 41: Brandon Ross scored on an 80-yard run with 4:40 to play and Maryland overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat Rutgers on Saturday in what might be Kyle Flood’s final game as the Scarlet Knights’ coach.
Ross ran for three touchdowns for the second straight game and Ty Johnson carried for two more as the Terrapins (3-9, 1-7 Big Ten) gave interim coach Mike Locksley his first win in six games and snapped an eight-game overall losing streak.
Ross’ go-ahead score came on the first play from scrimmage after Kyle Federico had put Rutgers ahead 41-39 with a 30-yard field goal with 4:57 to play.
Kenneth Goins Jr. had given Maryland its first lead at 39-39 with a 42-yard touchdown run with 8:43 to play.
Chris Laviano threw a career-best four touchdowns and Paul James ran for a touchdown for Rutgers (4-8, 1-7), which lost five of its final six games in a turbulent season that saw Flood suspended three games for trying to influence a player’s grade and six players dismissed for off-the-field problems.
Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 21: Dare Ogunbowale rushed for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown and Wisconsin beat Minnesota for the 12th straight time.
Taiwan Deal rushed for 90 and two scores and Wisconsin (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) kept Paul Bunyan’s Axe, which goes to the winner of the most-played rivalry game in college football.
Mitch Leidner was just 16 for 37 for 223 yards with a touchdown, three interceptions and a fumble for Minnesota (5-7, 2-6), which hasn’t beaten its border rival since 2003. The Golden Gophers turned the ball over five times.
The Badgers rushed for minus-26 yards in a loss to Northwestern last week that ended a five-game winning streak. They rushed for 199 of their 257 yards in the first half against Minnesota.