Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke (18) is sacked by Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey (44) during Saturday’s game in Bloomington, Ind. (AP photo)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Coach Tom Allen kept telling his Indiana Hoosiers to ignore the critics and stick to the plan.
On Saturday, the payoff finally came.
Second-year quarterback Brendan Sorsby ran for one score, threw for another and led the Hoosiers to a long field goal on their final possession Saturday to snap a six-game conference losing streak with a 20-14 victory over Wisconsin.
“I just attribute it to the culture,” Allen said. “They believe in what we’re doing, and I think it’s showed the way we played the last couple of weeks.”
Things certainly didn’t look promising for the Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) until last week.
They entered Saturday with four straight losses and on the cusp of postseason elimination for the third straight year. They had the second-lowest scoring average (18.6 points) among Power Five schools and the Big Ten’s worst run defense. They hadn’t beaten Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3) at home since 2002.
Iowa 10, Northwestern 7
CHICAGO — Drew Stevens nailed a tiebreaking 53-yard field goal in the closing seconds at Wrigley Field.
Anyone who predicted a baseball score with two teams not known for moving the ball meeting at the iconic ballpark weren’t that far off.
Tied for the Big Ten West lead and last in the nation in total offense, Iowa (7-2, 4-2) answered after Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) drove for a tying touchdown with just under two minutes remaining.
The Hawkeyes, aided by a 23-yard pass from Deacon Hill to Kaleb Brown, drove from the 28 to the Northwestern 35. After missing a 53-yarder off the upright in the first quarter, Stevens nailed one on fourth-and-7 to make it 10-7 with 14 seconds remaining, delighting the large contingent of fans wearing black and gold.
Michigan State 20, Nebraska 17
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Katin Houser and Sam Leavitt each threw touchdown passes and Noah Kim kicked two field goals to help Michigan State snap a six-game losing streak.
It is the Spartans’ first win under interim coach Harlon Barnett, who took over when Mel Tucker was fired Sept. 27. Michigan State (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) had dropped seven straight conference games since beating Rutgers Nov. 12, 2023.
“Finally. Finally got us a victory,” said a smiling Barnett. “Really happy for our guys. All we talked about was finish, finish, finish and that’s what they did. We finally finished one and got a victory.”
The victory was also the first for Houser who was making his fourth start of the year. He finished 13 of 20 passing for 165 yards.
“It’s surreal for sure,” said Houser who threw and 11-yard scoring pass to Christian Fitzpatrick in the second quarter. “I know we had some troubles; couldn’t get a win. I feel like today the whole team played together and were able to finish out in the fourth quarter. I’m so proud of our guys, so proud of our team. We were able to get that win. So it feels good.”
Neither team took control in the first half. Kim’s 51-yard field goal with 5:11 left in third quarter broke a 10-10 tie and Leavitt pushed the lead to 20-10 with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Montorie Foster Jr. with 12:13 remaining in the game.
Nebraska (5-4, 3-3) cut the deficit to 20-17 on Emmett Johnson’s four-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left. The Huskers regained possession with under a minute remaining but were unable to convert a hail Mary pass at the end of the game by Heinrich Haarberg, who finished 12 of 28 passing for 129 yards and two interceptions.
“Offensively, the second half we couldn’t get anything going,” said Nebraska coach Matt Rhule. “I’m so proud of the guys’ effort that they fought at the end.
“But overall, just the performance was not our best.”
Illinois 27, Minnesota 26
MINNEAPOLIS — John Paddock relieved the injured Luke Altmyer and went 3 for 3 for 85 yards to lift Illinois from a huge hole and deliver the go-ahead 46-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Williams with 50 seconds left.
Altmyer passed for 212 yards and a career-high three touchdowns for the Illini (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten), who had two of their three turnovers in the fourth quarter. They almost committed a fourth when Danny Striggow’s second sack of the game knocked the ball loose and forced Altmyer out of the game. Left tackle Julian Pearl scrambled to recover it.
Facing fourth-and-11 from their 15-yard line with 1:24 left, Paddock — a graduate transfer from Ball State — came in cold with the drive of his life that knocked the Gophers (5-4, 3-3) out of their tie for first place in the diluted Big Ten West Division. Iowa took sole possession with the losses by Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Paddock hit Williams for 22 yards to keep the Illini alive, found Pat Bryant for 17 yards and then called timeout. His on-the-money heave to Williams allowed the junior wide receiver to split the safeties, sprint into the end zone — and make amends for his earlier lost fumble.
Athan Kaliakmanis threw a career-high three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead scoring strike to Daniel Jackson with 5:53 left following the miscue by Williams.
Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, a projected top-10 NFL draft pick next year, served a first-half suspension for a targeting foul against Wisconsin. He showed up in a hurry after Jah Joyner — who had two of Minnesota’s five sacks — knocked the ball out of Altmeyer’s arm in the backfield before the Gophers recovered at the Illini 12.
Newton made a second-down run stop and sacked Kaliakmanis on third down to force Dragan Kesich’s second field goal of the game that gave the Gophers a 20-14 lead.
Penn State 41, Maryland 15
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Drew Allar threw three of his four touchdown passes in the first half, and No. 9 Penn State easily handled Maryland to set up a showdown with Michigan next week.
The Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten, No. 11 CFP) never were in danger of their meeting with fading Maryland becoming a trap game. The Terrapins (5-4, 2-4) have dropped four in a row, and a season that began with five straight wins is in danger of really unraveling.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Penn State’s leading receiver for the season, went down holding his left knee during the fourth quarter but was able to walk off.
The Penn State defensive front dominated. The Terrapins finished with minus-49 yards rushing. Six sacks played a role in that, but even running backs Roman Hemby, Antwain Littleton II and Colby McDonald netted minus-6 yards on their seven carries.
Now the Nittany Lions take on a Michigan team that rushed for 418 yards in their meeting last season.
Taulia Tagovailoa completed his first 17 pass attempts for the Terrapins, but he couldn’t keep Penn State from taking a 21-7 halftime lead. One of those completions went for a loss of 1 on fourth-and-1 on Maryland’s first possession, and the Nittany Lions took the ball and scored first on Allar’s 6-yard pass to Dante Cephas.
The Terps answered with a drive into Penn State territory, but Tai Felton lost a fumble at the end of a 9-yard reception.
The Nittany Lions went up 14-0 on a trick play that didn’t seem to work exactly as intended. Facing third down at the Maryland 2, Allar lined up at wide receiver and then took a pitch from quarterback Beau Pribula. Allar was cut off by a Maryland defender and started to run up the middle before being tripped. As he was falling down, he managed to flip the ball forward to an open Theo Johnson for a TD.
A roughing the punter penalty helped the Terps get on the scoreboard. Tagovailoa threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Hemby, but Allar answered with an 8-yarder to Tyler Warren.
Tagovailoa finished with 286 yards passing but threw an interception and lost a fumble. Allar went 25 of 34 for 240 yards.
Allar’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Cephas early in the fourth made it 31-7. Tagovailoa threw a 1-yard TD pass to Jeshaun Jones.
Kaytron Allen’s 10-yard scoring run for Penn State made it 38-15.
Three of Maryland’s four turnovers came in the final quarter, enabling the Nittany Lions to pad their lead.
