Wolverines pass road test
No. 4 Michigan knew that five of the last six top-5 teams who played at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City were beaten. But it was prepared.
The Wolverines scored on four of their first five possessions, then fought off a late Iowa rally for a 27-14 victory on Saturday.
Blake Corum rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown, J.J. McCarthy threw for 155 yards and a touchdown and the Wolverines (5-0, 2-0), playing their first road game of the season, were able to consistently move the ball against the Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1).
Iowa came into the game leading the nation in scoring defense and ranked sixth in total defense and rushing defense, but Michigan had 327 yards, including 172 rushing yards.
Ronnie Bell had a 16-yard touchdown run on the opening possession, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock.
“That’s how you start a game,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It was an impressive drive, and the game was impressive all around.”
“They did a good job of setting the tone, making it very difficult for us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Jake Moody’s two second-quarter field goals gave the Wolverines a 13-0 halftime lead, then McCarthy threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Edwards on Michigan’s opening possession of the third quarter.
Corum’s 20-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left in the game closed the scoring for the Wolverines. It was the sixth 100-yard rushing game of Corum’s career.
Purdue 20, Minnesota 10
Devin Mockobee rushed for 102 yards and a late touchdown to lift the visiting Boilermakers past the No. 21 Golden Gophers.
Cam Allen had two of Purdue’s three interceptions of Tanner Morgan, one in the end zone in the second quarter and another in the closing minutes. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell returned from a one-game injury absence for the Boilermakers (3-2, 1-1) and bounced back from two first-half interceptions to direct two drives for scores in the final five minutes.
With star Mohamed Ibrahim held out with a minor ankle injury in Minnesota’s previous game, the Gophers (4-1, 1-1) were stifled on the ground for just 47 yards on 26 attempts.
The Boilermakers had three turnovers and three three-and-outs over seven consecutive scoreless possessions, until O’Connell found a rhythm on a 70-yard march midway through the fourth quarter that set up Mitchell Fineran’s second field goal of the game for a 13-10 lead with 4:57 left.
Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10
Miyan Williams carried the load for the No. 3 Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0), rushing for a careerhigh 189 yards and five touchdowns.
Williams got the opportunity for a careerhigh 21 carries when TreVeyon Henderson became a late scratch because of an unspecified injury. Williams, a third-year back, exploded for a 70-yard touchdown romp in the third quarter and also had four short scoring plunges. He’s the first OSU back to rush for five touchdowns in a game since Keith Byars in 1984. Pete Johnson also did it in 1974.
Ohio State has scored 49 or more points in nine consecutive games against Rutgers (3-2, 0-2). That is the longest streak by any team against a single opponent since the Associated Press poll era began in 1936, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Maryland 27, Michigan State 13
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 314 yards and a touchdown, and the host Terrapins (4-1, 1-1) handed the Spartans (2-3, 0-2) their third consecutive loss. Tagovailoa went 32 of 41 and moved ahead of Boomer Esiason for third place on Maryland’s career list in yards passing.
Nebraska 35, Indiana 21
Casey Thompson threw for two touchdowns, including a 71-yarder to and ran for another to Trey Palmer to break a 21-21 tie, to lift the host Cornhuskers (2-3, 1-1). Nebraska had a nine-game skid against FBS teams since beating Northwestern on Oct. 2, 2021.