No. 2 Spartans beat CMU 30-10, but injuries mount
EAST LANSING, Mich. — On a day when Michigan State’s offense was sluggish and an upset seemed possible, Shilique Calhoun stood tall.
The star defensive lineman had 2 1⁄2 sacks and blocked a field goal Saturday, and the second-ranked Spartans beat Central Michigan 30-10. It was closer than that until Gerald Holmes ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Michigan State.
The Spartans (4-0) have scored at least 30 points in a school-record 12 consecutive games, but they did not look particularly good offensively for most of this one. Connor Cook threw for only 143 yards, and the Cippewas (1-3) kept their upset bid very much alive until the final period.
The Spartans, who have already lost linebacker Ed Davis and cornerback Vayante Copeland to season-ending injuries, lost standout tackle Jack Conklin to an apparent knee injury, although it’s not clear how serious that is.
It was 17-10 in the third quarter and the Chippewas had the ball when the Spartans held on fourthand-2 from the Michigan State 37. Cooper Rush threw incomplete under pressure from Calhoun and linebacker Riley Bullough.
That was as close as Central Michigan came to tying it. The Spartans added touchdown runs of 3 and 6 yards by Holmes in the final 8:37.
The injuries are beginning to mount for Michigan State. In addition to Conklin’s issue, safety RJ Williamson was shaken up a couple of times in the second half, and tight end Josiah Price was using crutches to support himself on the sideline toward the end of the game.
The Spartans took the field with their highest AP Top 25 ranking since 1966, but Central Michigan drove to the Michigan State 23 before settling for a field goal try on fourth-and-3. After a false start pushed the kick back, Demetrius Cooper blocked it.
The Spartans then drove 72 yards in six plays and took a 7-0 lead on Madre London’s 6-yard touchdown run, but the Chippewas answered with another time-consuming drive, reaching the Michigan State 21 before stalling. Central Michigan was set to go for it on fourth-and-1, but another false start forced Brian Eavey to try a field goal again. Calhoun blocked this one.
The Spartans led 17-0 after Cook’s 5-yard scoring pass to Price in the second quarter, but the Chippewas steadied themselves with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Rush to Anthony Rice with 8 seconds left in the half
Chris Laviano threw two touchdowns and Josh Hicks ran for 113 yards and two more scores as embattled Rutgers snapped a two-game losing streak and defeated Kansas Saturday, handing the Jayhawks their 32nd straight road loss.
It was the first win for the Scarlet Knights (2-2) since coach Kyle Flood was suspended for three games on Sept. 16 for contacting a faculty member about a player’s grade. Running backs coach Norries Wilson has run the team the last two games.
Laviano’s touchdowns covered 14 yards to Carlton Agudosi and 7 to Matt Flanagan. Hicks scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards. Robert Martin had 17 carries for 102 yards as the Scarlet Knights ran for a season-high 312 yards
Ke’aun Kinner scored on runs of 2
Rutgers 27, Kansas 14:
and 1 yard for Kansas (0-3), which is still looking to give new coach David Beaty his first win.
Bowling Green 35, Perdue 28:
Travis Greene scored on a 12-yard touchdown run with 9 seconds left giving Bowling Green a victory over Purdue on Saturday.
The Falcons (2-2) have wins over two Big Ten schools this season — the first time Bowling Green has beaten two power-conference teams in the same season since 2003.
Bowling Green’s Matt Johnson entered this week as the FBS leader in passing yardage and touchdowns and finished 43 of 59 with 402 yards, one TD and one interception. Greene carried 11 times for 70 yards and two scores.
Purdue kicker Paul Griggs missed a 32-yard field goal with 2:50 to play and Johnson took the Falcons 80 yards on nine plays in 2:41 for the winning score.
Purdue’s David Blough was 28 of 39 for 340 yards in his first college start with two TD passes. He also ran for a score— but the Boilermakers (1-3) lost their second straight.
Nebraska 36, Southern Mississippi 28:
Tommy Armstrong passed for 368 yards and two touchdowns, Freedom Akinmoladun sacked Nick Mullens near midfield on the final play, and Nebraska held on to beat Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
Drew Brown tied an NCAA record with five field goals in the first half, Jordan Westerkamp had a career day with 11 catches for 118 yards, and the Cornhuskers (2-2) got an unexpected lift from fullback Andy Janovich.
Southern Miss (2-2) stayed within striking distance after entering the fourth quarter down 22 points. Mullens and Casey Martin teamed up for two touchdowns, and Jalen Richard’s 1-yard run pulled the Eagles to 36-28 with 6:55 left.
Brown could have put the game out of reach with a sixth field goal with 29 seconds left, but his 24-yard try was tipped, giving Southern Miss a final opportunity to tie. But Akinmoladun crashed through to sack Mullens, and the Eagles couldn’t stop the clock.
Iowa 62, North Texas 16:
Jordan Canzeri ran for 115 yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns as Iowa trounced North Texas 62-16 Saturday for its fourth straight win.
C.J. Beathard completed his first 15 passes and had 278 yards for the Hawkeyes (4-0), who open Big Ten play next week at Wisconsin after topping 60 points for the first time since 2002.
Iowa set its season high for points before halftime, racing out to a 35-13 lead. Canzeri’s final TD run put Iowa ahead 42-16.
The win was the 119th at Iowa for coach Kirk Ferentz, matching former Badgers coach Barry Alvarez for victories by a Big Ten coach.
Andrew McNulty had 137 yards passing and an interception for the Mean Green (0-3), who lost their third straight by double digits.
Minnesota 27, Ohio 24:
Shannon Brooks rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns — the last a 3-yard plunge with 30 seconds remaining — to lift Minnesota to a victory over Ohio on Saturday.
Embattled quarterback Mitch Leidner led the 78-yard game-winning drive after Minnesota (3-1) fell behind 24-20 with 2:26 to play after Josiah Yazdani’s 41-yard field goal. Leidner completed 4 of 6 passes for 42 yards on the drive and finished with a career-high 264 yards passing for the Golden Gophers.
Derrius Vick completed 17 of 27 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns and A.J. Ouellette rushed for 59 yards and another score for Ohio (3-1). But Vick’s Hail Mary pass with the clock expiring was batted down, and the Gophers escaped.
No. 1 Ohio State 38, Western Michigan 12:
Cardale Jones threw two touchdown passes early and Adolphus Washington returned an interception 20 yards for a score to lead No. 1 Ohio State to a win over Western Michigan on Saturday.
Jones played better than he did a week ago, when he was benched in the second quarter of a seven-point win over Northern Illinois. He finished 19 of 33 for 288 yards with an interception before J.T. Barrett replaced him late in the game. Ohio State (3-0) has won 17 straight. Jones threw a 38-yard scoring pass to Michael Thomas on the Buckeyes’ first series, and Ohio State went up 14-0 early in the second quarter on his 37-yard TD pass to Jalin Marshall.
Western Michigan (1-3) made it 14-6 on a 55-yard pass by Zach Terrell to Daniel Braverman, but Terrell threw an interception that Washington returned to give Ohio State a 24-6 lead at the half. The defense has TDs in three straight games.
Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott topped 100 yards for the ninth straight game, finishing with 144 yards, including a 6-yard TD.
Penn State 37, San Diego State 21:
Christian Hackenberg threw three touchdown passes and Penn State beat San Diego State on Saturday.
Hackenberg was 21 of 35 for 296 yards passing and connected on scoring strikes to Saquon Barkley, Mark Allen, and Chris Godwin. Saeed Blacknall added four catches for 101 yards for Penn State (3-1), which scored on three of its first four possessions and added 21 points off of turnovers.
Defensive tackle Austin Johnson returned a fumble 71 yards, and Joey Julius kicked three field goals for the Nittany Lions.
Rashaad Penny scored on a 100-yard kickoff return in the first quarter for San Diego State (1-3). Maxwell Smith threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Mikah Holder to give the Aztecs their only lead of the game, 14-13 in the second quarter. D.J. Pumphrey added a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter.
Illinois 27, Middle Tennessee 25:
Taylor Zalewksi kicked a 51-yard field goal with just over two minutes left on Saturday to deliver Illinois a come-from-behind win over Middle Tennessee.
But, before they could celebrate, the Illini had to endure Cody Clark’s 43-yard field-goal try for the Blue Raiders that missed wide left with eight seconds left in the game.
The Illini (3-1) led 24-12 going into the fourth quarter.
Brent Stockstill then led the Blue Raiders (2-2) on a pair of late scoring drives. The second gave them a 25-24 lead on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Ed Batties.
Stockstill threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Batties caught 13 passes for 175 yards and two of those touchdowns.
Wes Lunt led Illinois with 238 yards passing and a touchdown.
No. 17 Northwestern 24, Ball State 19:
Clayton Thorson threw three touchdown passes, Justin Jackson ran for a career-high 184 yards and No. 17 Northwestern overcame a sluggish first half to rally for a 24-19 victory over Ball State on Saturday night.
Thorson, the freshman quarterback, finished 18 of 31 for 256 yards with one interception for the Wildcats (4-0). Jackson had 33 carries for an average of 5.6 yards.
Dan Vitale had five receptions for 108 yards and a pair of touchdown catches, including a 66-yarder in the first half.
Riley Neal was 14 of 35 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, both to wide receiver Jordan Williams, for Ball State (2-2).
Northwestern won its first four games for the second time in three seasons. Two years ago, the Wildcats dropped seven straight after the fast start. They begin the Big Ten season next week against Minnesota.
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No. 22 Wisconsin 28, Hawaii
Taiwan Deal ran for 147 yards and two scores, and No. 22 Wisconsin held a nonconference opponent without a touchdown for the third straight game in a 28-0 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night.
Linebacker Joe Schobert had two sacks and the Badgers (3-1) held Hawaii (2-2) to 15 yards rushing in the first night game at Camp Randall Stadium in three years.
Deal got the Badgers’ own rushing attack going with a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs in the first half. With Big Ten play looming, Deal’s day was a promising sign for a Wisconsin team that will be without injured starting tailback Corey Clement for at least a month.
The Rainbow Warriors’ best scoring chance came in the third quarter in a drive to the 1. Penalties pushed Hawaii back 30 yards, and Rigoberto Sanchez missed a 49-yard field goal.