BIG TEN ROUNDUP
No. 9 Penn State 34, No. 24 Indiana 27: Quarterback Sean Clifford scored three touchdowns Saturday, leading host Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 9 CFP) past Indiana (7-3, 4-3) to keep its playoff hopes alive. Penn State next week plays at No. 2 Ohio State, where the top spot in the Big Ten East will be on the line. Clifford also completed 11 of 23 passes for 179 yards and ran for 55 yards. Journey Brown rushed 21 times for 100 yards and added a score. With Penn State ahead by a field goal with 10:45 to play, Clifford led an 18-play, 75-yard drive that ate 9:01 and ended when he plunged in from a yard out to put the game out of reach. Tight end Nick Bowers caught a 12-yard touchdown pass for the Nittany Lions. Peyton Ramsey completed 31 of 41 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more for the Hoosiers, who outgained Penn State 462 to 371.
No. 14 Michigan 44, Michigan State 10: Shea Patterson threw for a season-high 384 yards and four touchdowns, sending host Michigan to a romp over Michigan State for the Spartans’ fifth straight loss.
The Wolverines (8-2, 5-2, No. 15 CFP) scored 24 straight points after giving up the first touchdown and coasted to their most lopsided win in the rivalry since a 49-3 victory in 2002. The Spartans (4-6, 2-5) must win at Rutgers and against Maryland to be bowl eligible. Michigan State got off to a solid start, leading 7-0 after the first quarter on Brian Lewerke’s 1-yard pass to Max Rosenthal. The offensively challenged Spartans did little with the ball and simply couldn’t stop Michigan in the air. Patterson completed 24 of 33 passes.
No. 15 Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21: Jonathan Taylor ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns, Aaron Cruickshank ran back a kickoff 89 yards for a score, and visiting Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2, No. 14 CFP) beat Nebraska (4-6, 2-5). Taylor became the first Football Bowl Subdivision player since at least 2000 to run for 200 yards three times against the same team, according to Sportradar. He had 221 against the Cornhuskers last year and 249 in 2017. The junior recorded his 11th 200-yard game, moving into a four-way tie for most in a career by an FBS player. The Badgers quickly erased a 14-10 deficit in the second quarter.
Northwestern 45, Umass 6: Evan Hull had four rushing touchdowns, Chris Bergin added an 85-yard touchdown return on a blocked field goal, and host Northwestern (2-8) snapped a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Umass (1-10). Hull, a freshman, had 220 yards rushing on 24 carries (an average of 9.2 yards) in his first significant action this season. He had a total of 15 yards and eight carries (an average of 1.9 yards) before Saturday. Northwestern last won on Sept. 14 with a 30-14 victory over UNLV. Quarterback Randall West was 19 of 36 for 175 yards and Bilal Ally had 66 yards rushing on 16 carries for Umass.