Notre Dame the Big 10 and the MAC

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Tom Stryker - 10/26/2005 10:47 PM

Notre Dame used a record-setting day to bury Brigham Young. The Big Ten continues to be a logjam with seven teams within one loss of each other. And a huge upset has turned at least one division in the Mid-American Conference into a wide open chase. Those were the highlights of Week 8, a dot on the schedule that witnessed only one down-to-the-wire contest. It was a week of blowouts. Gut-check time is rapidly approaching for a number of teams. Off a week of rest, Notre Dame's BCS hopes could lie on its next home contest against SEC-power Tennessee. Big 10 leader's Penn State and Wisconsin both get a breather before November's crunch time. And Toledo continues to dominate the MAC with no potential danger in sight. Let's take a look at last week's card.

NOTRE DAME 49, BYU 23 - All the drama of last week's near miss against USC was gone. But the Irish rode a record-setting passing attack to throttle the Cougars. Brady Quinn, seemingly better with each passing week, completed 32 of 41 passes for 467 yards and school-record six touchdowns. Quinn had a school-record 25-for-30 first half for 287 yards.

Senior Maurice Stovall set two ND receiving catches. He grabbed 14 receptions (one record) for 207 yards and four touchdowns (another record). Fellow wide receiver Jeff Samardzija also set an Irish record when he caught a TD pass for the seventh straight game. And Samardzija tied Derrick Mayes when he grabbed his second TD catch of the day - his 11th of the season.

Quinn, who has 20 TD passes this season, extended his own record of consecutive games with a touchdown pass (12) and moved to second place with 6,769 career passing yards. Ron Powlus holds the record with 7,602.

Tom Zbikowski, who returned a punt for a touchdown against USC, ran 83 yards for a touchdown with an interception on Saturday. The Irish moved to 5-2 and have a week off before a huge home date against Tennessee.

THE BIG TEN
In what may be the closest and most exciting conference race in many years, four teams only have one league loss, while three more are a step behind with two league losses. Penn State and Wisconsin actually are tied for first with 4-1 league marks, but Northwestern and Ohio State are 3-1, while Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota are another step behind with two setbacks each. Here's a look at Saturday's action.

MICHIGAN 23, IOWA 20 (overtime) - Iowa's 22-game home winning streak was snapped and Michigan's Lloyd Carr earned his 100th career victory in this down-to-the-wire honey. It was the first time this year that Michigan has posted back-to-back victories, the longest it has taken in a season to do that since 1967.

Jerome Jackson scored from one yard out in overtime to seal the victory - after Iowa had kicked a field goal on its possession. Chad Henne, often inconsistent this season, completed 14 of 21 for 207 yards and two touchdowns.

Drew Tate was 27 of 39 for 288 yards and two touchdowns, but the Hawkeyes were unable to capitalize when in Michigan territory. Iowa also was penalized 11 times for 94 yards. Michigan now stands 5-3, 3-2, the same record now held by the Hawkeyes. The Wolverines travel to Northwestern next Saturday. Iowa is idle.

WISCONSIN 31, PURDUE 20 - The Badgers stayed even with Penn State atop the Big Ten, using Roderick Rogers' 84-yard interception for a touchdown to spark the victory over the Boilermakers. Another interception for a touchdown, this one from 62 yards out by cornerback Jake Ikegwuonu with 3:21 to play actually sealed the deal for the Badgers, now 7-1, 4-1 on the season. It was Purdue's fifth straight defeat (2-5, 0-4).

Wisconsin benefited from five turnovers by Purdue - including three interceptions of redshirt freshman Curtis Painter, who played for Brandon Kirsch at quarterback. In addition to the two interceptions for touchdowns, the Badgers were saved again when Purdue lost a fumble on the Wisconsin 6-yard-line.

Brandon Williams broke Lee Evans Wisconsin record with his 175th career pass reception. He also became the first Badger to notch 500 receiving yards in four straight seasons.

Painter was 23 of 44 for 212 yards and one touchdown (with three seconds to play), while John Stocco was 15 of 26 for 217 yards.

Wisconsin's winning ways should continue at Illinois next week while Purdue must travel to Happy Valley to do battle with Penn State.

PENN STATE 63, ILLINOIS 10 - Much maligned Michael Robinson had a hand in six touchdowns (four passing) as the Nittany Lions climbed to 7-1, 4-1, tied atop the Big Ten with Wisconsin. The big game by Robinson helped Joe Paterno grab his 350th career victory. Penn State was so dominant that the halftime score was 56-3, and starters saw nearly no action in the second half. The loss was the worst for Illinois, now 2-5, 0-4, since a 69-13 loss to Michigan in 1986. Both teams will play at home next Saturday, with Penn State hosting Purdue and Illinois meeting another power in Wisconsin.

NORTHWESTERN 49, MICHIGAN STATE 14 - Don't look now, but the Wildcats are 5-2 and 3-1 in the league and can't be overlooked any more. Capitalizing on Michigan State turnovers, Northwestern rode the talents of quarterback Brett Basanez to the easy victory. Michigan State had two passes intercepted in the Northwestern end zone, missed two field goals and had a fumble returned for a touchdown by Northwestern. That was way more than the Wildcats needed.

Basanez passed for 331 yards, including two touchdowns. He also ran for two more, helping Northwestern to its third straight win. The loss was the third straight for Michigan State.

Drew Stanton, who started the game as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation (passing efficiency). But he was 20 of 38 for 234 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Northwestern's impressive freshman running back Tyrell Sutton gained 109 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Northwestern returns home to meet Michigan, while Michigan State stays home on next Saturday to play Indiana.

OHIO STATE 41, INDIANA 10 - Indiana linebacker stripped Ted Ginn of the ball after a pass completion and raced 57 yards for a touchdown midway through the third period. That left the Hoosiers down 17-10, and the Buckeyes seemed in trouble. But 24 consecutive points put the game away and leaves Ohio State just a half-step behind the conference leaders at 5-2, 3-1. Indiana fell to 4-3, 1-3.

The difference in the game actually was the Buckeyes defense, which limited Indiana to 137 total yards. Ginn atoned for his fumble with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown, just minutes after Brandon Mitchell scored on a 57-yard interception return. Ohio State travels to Minnesota next Saturday, while Indiana visits Michigan State.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Western Michigan's stunning upset at Bowling has thrown the MAC East into a free-for-all, while West Division-leading Toledo continues to be the only unbeaten team in league. A huge matchup comes this Saturday when Toledo travels to second-place Central Michigan, idle last Saturday. Here's a rundown of last weekend's games.

Western Michigan 45, Bowling Green 14 - Doormats during the last couple of MAC seasons, WMU notched its fourth win of the season, stunning the Falcons. The result leaves Bowling Green still atop the West at 3-1. But three other West teams only have two league losses.

Tim Hiller threw three touchdown passes for the victors, now 4-3, 2-2. Western raced to a 31-6 lead at halftime.

Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs injured his shoulder in the first period and did not return. His status for next Saturday is uncertain.

Toledo 38, Buffalo 15 - The Rockets climbed to 6-1, 4-0 in the league, staying a step ahead of Central Michigan and Northern Illinois in the conference chase. Bruce Gradkowski again was efficient for Toledo, throwing for three touchdowns. It was Toledo's 17th straight home victory, tying a school record set twice before (1999 to 2002 and 1969 to 1971). It was the Rockets 34th victory in its last 35 home games. Buffalo fell to 0-7, 0-4.

Northern Illinois 34, Kent State 3 - The Huskies seem to have overcome their early-season problems and posted their third straight victory. The win keeps Northern a step behind Toledo at 4-3 overall, but more importantly 3-1 in MAC play. Adrian Davis was the workhorse in this Northern Illinois victory, gained 252 yards on the ground and scoring three touchdowns. Kent State, now 1-6, 0-4, converted its only score on Travis Mayle's 37-yard field goal after the Golden Flashes recovered a fumble on Northern's 21-yard line.

Miami, Ohio 24, Eastern Michigan 23 - The Redhawks escaped at least an overtime when an extra point hit the right upright, preserving Miami's victory. Now 4-3, 3-2, Miami stayed one step behind Bowling Green in the MAC East. Josh Betts threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Martin Nance with 1:10 to play to put Miami ahead, 24-17. But Eastern's freshman quarterback Tyler Jones led the Eagles on a 67-yard march and score that seemed to be the game-tier. But the extra points snap was mishandled and kick hit the right upright. Eastern fell to 3-5, 2-3. Betts finished 23 of 42 for 252 yards for Miami. Jones, played for the injured Matt Bohnet ran for 107 yards and one touchdown and passed for 135 yards and two more scores.

Ohio 38, Ball State 21 - The Bobcats climbed to 3-4, 2-2 with the home field triumph over the Cardinals. Kalvin McRae hurt Ball State with 268 rushing yards and a touchdown. Ball State fell to 1-6, 1-3 in a game where it converted only 1 of 11 third-down opportunities. Joey Lynch was 23 of 34 for 241 yards for the losers.

Army 20, Akron 0 - The visitors limited the Zips to 44 yards rushing while posting the first shutout for Army since 1993. It was Army's first victory of the season after six losses. The defeat was Akron's third in its last four outings. The Zips now are 3-4, 2-2.

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