ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 2 Michigan has taken full advantage of its soft schedule, routinely routing overmatched opponents week after week.
Indiana was the latest to get lost in the Wolverines’ wake.
J.J. McCarthy threw a tiebreaking, 2-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson late in the first half and No. 2 Michigan pulled away to pummel Indiana 52-7 Saturday.
The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) have beaten teams by an average of 33 points. They are the third team since 2000 to win each of the first seven games by 24-plus points, joining Ohio State’s 2019 team and Stanford’s squad in 2011.
Michigan is allowing just 6.7 points per game, becoming the first FBS team to give up 10 or fewer points in its first seven games since Clemson in 1981.
“When we get punched in the mouth, we’re going to respond,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
The Hoosiers landed the first blows before getting blown out on a cold, wet and windy afternoon.
The Wolverines started slow, punting after losing 8 yards on their first two possessions and giving up the game’s first touchdown, and closed strong with 52 straight points.
“I was really happy with the way we responded and rolled after those two drives,” McCarthy said.
Indiana (2-4, 0-3) took a 7-0 late late in the first quarter when Brendan Sorsby threw a lateral out wide to Donaven McCulley and the receiver heaved a 44-yard pass to Jaylin Lucas, who was wide open against a defense that was fooled by the trick play.
“I feel like we shot ourselves in the foot,” McCulley said. “In the first half, we can’t come out and make a big play and just not continue to roll.”
Indiana didn’t do much offensively the rest of the game and couldn’t slow down McCarthy and Co.
McCarthy was very efficient over three quarters, completing 14 of 17 passes for 222 yards with touchdown passes to Wilson, Colston Loveland and Semaj Morgan.
McCarthy’s go-ahead touchdown pass converted a fourth down and included Blake Corum making a key block to keep the pocket clean.
“No. 9 is going to make it right,” Harbaugh said of his decision to go for it. “I had great confidence that the odds are in our favor.”
Corum ran for 52 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns. He has 12 rushing touchdowns this season to rank among college football leaders and 43 in his career, moving past Mike Hart and Denard Robinson and trailing just Anthony Thomas (55) and Tyrone Wheatley (47) in school history.
Indiana quarterbacks Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby both played and had rough days in Rod Carey’s first game as offensive coordinator.
“We just had to settle in a little bit,” said Michigan defensive end Jaylen Harrell, who had two sacks. “We called it a training camp game because we knew they had a new OC. Coming off a bye, there would be some things we weren’t prepared for. We got off to a slow start, but we clicked when we needed to.”
Jackson started and finished 7 of 13 for 52 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. Sorsby was 6 of 15 for 44 yards with a fumble.
Penn State 63, UMass 0
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It had been a long time since Daequan Hardy fielded a punt. It won’t be long until he lines up to catch another one.
The Penn State cornerback returned two punts for touchdowns, sparking the No. 6 Nittany Lions after a slow start in a 63-0 win over UMass on Saturday.
“Get vertical,” Hardy said. “You try to get as many yards as you can.”
That’s exactly what he did, slashing for 129 yards on three returns with a 56-yard score in the first that helped Penn State recover from a sloppy start in a cold downpour at Beaver Stadium.
Drew Allar threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score, Theo Johnson caught two touchdown passes and Tyler Warren, Kaytron Allen, Trey Potts and Beau Pribula scored to lead the Nittany Lions to their 11th-straight win dating to last season.
Coming off a bye week, and with next week’s trip to No. 3 Ohio State looming, Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) committed its first offensive turnover of the season when Tre Wallace fumbled on the opening drive.
But Penn State’s defense was ready. It forced the first of 10 UMass punts, this one to Hardy who’d never fielded a punt in college.
The cornerback’s skill was evident.
Hardy sidestepped the first two Minutemen on the scene before slicing through the rest for the 55-yard touchdown, all but sealing UMass’s seventh-straight loss. He brought the soggy, poncho-covered fans who’d stuck around to their feet in the third quarter with a 68-yard return that made it 49-0.
“This is going to create issues for people that are evaluating us on film,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “Something that’s going to cause them kind of long nights in how they’re going to defend us. I’m not surprised. This is who he’s been.”
It was all Penn State from there.
The Nittany Lions scored touchdowns on their next seven possessions while the defense picked up seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss and an interception.
Allar plunged in from a yard out to make it 14-0 early in the second before Allen powered in on a 9-yard run on Penn State’s next drive. Allar hit his tight ends to cap Penn State’s next three drives — a short over-the-middle throw to Warren then 18- and 30-yard darts to Johnson.
Potts and Pribula scored in the fourth and Penn State held UMass to just 109 yards of offense.
Iowa 15, Wisconsin 6
MADISON, Wis. — Iowa’s throwback style may not bring many viewers to television sets and certainly doesn’t put many points on the scoreboard.
But it just might get the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten championship game.
Leshon Williams scored the game’s lone touchdown on an 82-yard breakaway and finished with 174 yards rushing Saturday to lead Iowa to a 15-6 victory over Wisconsin, which lost quarterback Tanner Mordecai to a hand injury.
“We wanted to take the heart out of them,” said Williams, who had 25 carries. “I feel like that’s what we did today.”
Iowa (6-1, 3-1) has sole possession of the Big Ten West Division lead. Not bad for a team that entered Saturday gaining just 249.2 total yards per game, the lowest average of any Football Bowl Subdivision team.
The Hawkeyes didn’t even reach that mark Saturday as they were outgained 324-237. It didn’t matter.
“This game was going to come down to physicality,” said Iowa’s Sebastian Castro, who had two tackles for loss and an interception. “I feel we came out there and did that. We did just that.”
Iowa has beaten Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1) in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and gets to maintain possession of the Heartland Trophy, the 72-pound brass bull that goes to the winner of this annual matchup.
A game in which points already figured to be at a premium turned into even more of a defensive struggle after each team lost a top offensive player to a first-half injury.
Iowa tight end Erick All was carted into the locker room after getting injured while making a 5-yard catch on the Hawkeyes’ second series. Wisconsin lost Mordecai late in the second quarter when he was following through on a pass and his throwing hand hit the helmet of Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins.
TV cameras showed Mordecai mouthing, “I can’t throw,” shortly after the play before he headed into the locker room. That forced Wisconsin to turn to Braedyn Locke, a Mississippi State transfer who had thrown just one career pass before Saturday. Locke went 15 o 30 for 122 yards with an interception.
“It doesn’t look good for a little while,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said of Mordecai’s status. “He couldn’t grip the ball, so we’ll have to make sure we find out what the deal is tomorrow and see how long that may last.”
All’s injury was a huge setback for an Iowa offense that already lost starting quarterback Cade McNamara to a season-ending knee injury and tight end Luke Lachey to a likely season-ending ankle injury.
Those injuries forced both teams to look elsewhere for playmakers. Williams responded with Iowa’s longest run from scrimmage since Tavian Banks also had an 82-yarder in a 63-20 blowout of Iowa State in 1997.
With Iowa facing third-and-2 early in the second quarter, Williams made a stutter step in the backfield, burst through a big hole inside, broke free from safety Austin Brown’s arm tackle attempt about a dozen yards downfield and raced down the right sideline.
After that touchdown, Iowa gained 3 net yards over its next six series, all three-and-outs. Yet the Hawkeyes never trailed thanks to their defense.
“All they need is one big play, and they’re happy with that,” Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman said. “They can win games that way. It sucks because we did pretty well most of the game, but that one play was enough for them to come out with the victory.”
Wisconsin cut the margin to 7-6 in the third period on two Nathanial Vakos field goals, one from 36 yards out and the other from 52.
But Iowa controlled the fourth quarter, getting a pair of Drew Stevens field goals as well as a safety when Yahya Black sacked Locke and forced a fumble that Wisconsin tackle Riley Mahlman recovered in the end zone for a safety with 12:15 remaining.
Iowa sealed the victory by forcing turnovers on Wisconsin’s final two series.
Illinois 27, Maryland 24
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Caleb Griffin kicked the ball through the uprights to end the game, then took off for the other end zone and slid on his stomach in celebration.
It was a move he’d sort of planned out while talking with holder Hugh Robertson.
“We were on the sideline and they had a lot of fans chirping, and I kind of told Hugh, I was like, ‘Hey, when we make this game-winning kick, we’re going to run down like it’s a soccer game,’” Griffin said. “Like when you score a soccer goal, you run to the other end and head-first slide, and it’s perfect with the wet turf.”
Griffin kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give Illinois its first Big Ten victory of the season, a 27-24 upset of Maryland on Saturday.
Luke Altmyer threw two touchdown passes and then guided the Illini (3-4, 1-3) into field-goal range after Maryland’s Jack Howes tied it with a 48-yard kick with 1:31 remaining. Seth Coleman had three sacks for Illinois.
Kaden Feagin ran for a TD for the Illini, who reached the end zone on both sides of halftime to take the lead. Maryland (5-2, 2-2) was coming off its first loss of the season. The Terrapins acquitted themselves well for much of that game at Ohio State, but they followed it with a performance as dreary as the grey sky on what was a drizzly day in Maryland.
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns and even caught a pass on a trick play, but the Terps had a hard time sustaining drives against a solid Illinois defensive front.
Illinois led 24-14 before Maryland’s Antwain Littleton II ran for a 4-yard touchdown as time expired in the third quarter. That was the start of a late rally by the Terrapins, but they settled for a field goal on their final possession after an unsuccessful running play on third-and-6.
“Anytime we make calls like that, it’s easy for us to second guess them,” Maryland coach Michael Locksley said. “It’s obviously something that we prepared for. We have run some third-and-medium based on the front and based on the defense we expect to get. I’d like to see us find ways to be more efficient on third-and-medium, whether it’s run or throw.”
Maryland led 14-7 in the second quarter when receiver Kaden Prather fumbled the ball away at the Illinois 27. The Illini then drove for the tying touchdown with the help of a couple of big penalties on the Terrapins. On fourth-and-1 from the 2, Illinois lined up as if to kick a short field goal, but Maryland took a timeout.
Locksley said that was to remind players not to be drawn offside on the kick, but the Illini then sent their offense back on the field, and Feagin ran for a TD to even the score at 14 with 9 seconds left in the half. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. talked him into going for it.
“We like to defer (after winning the opening coin toss) and what we call double dip, which, you try to score right before the half and you try to score the first possession out,” Bielema said. “That usually flips a game for you.”
Maryland tried an onside kick to open the third quarter and it didn’t work. The Illini marched 59 yards and took the lead on a 15-yard scoring pass from Altmyer to Isaiah Williams.
“We always fight to get what we call that two-score swing between the halves. That’s one of the reasons why we tried the surprise onside there to steal that possession,” Locksley said. “Obviously, didn’t get it executed — it was there, but didn’t get it executed and then gave up the touchdown, which then allowed them to have the two-score swing.”
Illinois opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 44-yard touchdown strike from Altmyer to Pat Bryant. Maryland answered with touchdown passes by Tagovailoa to Sean Greeley and Prather.
Rutgers 27, Michigan State 24
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — On a rainy, Homecoming afternoon, one of the greatest comebacks in Rutgers’ football history went basically unnoticed, spoiling by what could have been a memorable day for Michigan State interim head coach Harlon Barnett.
Kyle Monangai ran for 148 yards and had a go-ahead 21-yard touchdown run as the Scarlet Knights rallied from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Michigan State 27—24 Saturday, denying Barnett his first win.
Rutgers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) got two big plays on special teams and two scores in a nine-second span in getting off to its best start since 2014 and handing Michigan State (2-4, 0-3) its fourth straight loss under Barnett.
Of the announced crowd of 52,879 fans, there might have been a couple of thousand fans on hand to see the turnaround, Rutgers’ biggest since 2015.
“Those who stuck around in the rain got to see something really exciting,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “Everything that could go wrong in the first three quarters pretty much did.”
The final 15 minutes were remarkable, at least for the Scarlet Knights — who outgained Michigan State 120 to minus-20 in the fourth quarter.
“Games take a life of their own,” Schiano said. “Some people think momentum isn’t real. They’re living in a dream. But watch this one today.”
Aaron Young started the comeback with 13:09 to play, recovering a fumble in the end zone after the snap slipped through the hands of Michigan State punter Michael O’Shaughnessy to cut the gap to 24-13.
After a Michigan State punt, Gavin Wimsatt (13 of 28 for 181) cut the lead to 24-21 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Washington and a 2-point conversion pass to Christian Dremel with 8:30 to go. On the ensuing kickoff Michigan State return man Tyrell Henry let the ball bounce and Rutgers’ Thomas Amankwaa recovered it at the Spartans 21, controlling the ball despite a collision with Henry.
Schiano said Jude McAtamney’s kickoff is meant to bounce behind the Spartans’ front line expecting an on-side kick and in front of the returner.
“The sky kick was a tremendous play by Jude,” Schiano said. “It was a razor thin margin of error.”
On the next play, Monangai scored on the long run to cap Rutgers’ biggest comeback since a school-record 25-point rally against Indiana.
“This was a testament to everyone’s belief,” said Monangai, who ran for 107 yards in the fourth quarter. “We came in at halftime and put the first half aside. It’s easy to lay down if things aren’t going your way in the first half. But there were no shadows of doubt that we were going to win this game.”
Michigan State went three-and-out on the next series and Rutgers ran out the final 7:05.
Barnett said his message to the team at halftime and during the game was to finish.
“We had the momentum,” Barnett said. “But like I said, when the momentum switch happened, we couldn’t stop them rolling down the hill, avalanche after avalanche.”
Michigan State seemed in total control and headed for its first win since Mel Tucker was fired after redshirt freshman Katin Houser threw his second touchdown of the game to open a 24-6 lead.
Stepping in for Noah Kim, Houser (18 of 29 for 133) ran an efficient ball-control offense and capped long drives with scoring passes of 13 yards to Montorie Foster Jr. on the opening drive of the game and a 4-yarder to Tre Mosley on the Spartans’ first drive of the second half. The redshirt freshman also scored on a 12-yard run in the second quarter in opening a 17-6 lead.
Jai Patel provided Rutgers points with field goals of 22 and 47 yards.
Spartans linebacker Aaron Brule agreed this was one of those games where players don’t know how they lost.
“But there’s not a doubt, we clearly see we can play with anybody at any time,” Brule said. “We just have to finish those games and we will do that.”
