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EVANSTON, Ill. - Eighth-ranked Wisconsin bent but didn’t break defensively, dominated time of possession and scored what it needed in a 21-7 Big Ten victory over Northwestern on Saturday.
The Badgers (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten West) won their third straight game, while the Wildcats (4-5, 3-3) suffered their second consecutive loss.
“We were fairly consistent running the football and I thought we really did a good job of stopping (Northwestern’s) run,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said.
Corey Clement rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown - his fourth game with 100-plus yards -while Jazz Peavy added a career-first rushing score as Wisconsin outrushed Northwestern 190-39.
The Badgers also had a nearly 21-minute edge in possession time, dominated on third-down conversions and had 20 first downs to 14 for the Wildcats.
“We played right into Wisconsin’s hands,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We knew how critical third down was going to be and for us to be 5 of 18 and for them to be almost at 50 percent obviously tells you the difference in the game.
“You’ve got to win on third down. It’s critically important and we failed at that.”
The Wildcats’ only score was a 13-yard second quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Clayton Thorson to Austin Carr. Thorson completed 28 of 51 passes for 277 yards, while Carr grabbed 12 passes for 132 yards.
Carr, the Big Ten’s leader with 70 receptions, 1,010 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, moved into fifth place all-time in program history in yardage.
Wisconsin kicker Andrew Endicott made two of his four field-goal attempts and added an extra point.
Wisconsin extended its lead to 10-0 on Peavy’s 46-yard touchdown run with 7:33 showing to wrap up a five-play, 68-yard drive.
Northwestern broke the shutout in the final minute of the half, moving 87 yards in eight plays in 62 seconds to score on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Thorson to Carr with 39 seconds left.
Wisconsin moved to the Northwestern 10 midway through the third quarter but came no closer, settling instead for Endicott’s 28-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead.
Thorson and Carr combined on a 32-yard pass play to the Badgers’ 30-yard line as the third quarter neared an end. But Conor Sheehy sacked Thorson early in the fourth and caused a fumble, which D’Cota Dixon of Wisconsin recovered and returned to the Wildcat 45.
“We still had a chance going into the fourth quarter against the No. 8 team in the country, and then (had) self-inflicted wounds,” Fitzgerald said.
Nine plays later, Clement capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and Alec Ingold’s two-point conversion run opened a 21-7 lead with 8:57 left in regulation that held up the rest of the way.
WISCONSIN 21 NORTHWESTERN 7
Wisconsin 0 10 3 8- 21
Northwestern 0 7 0 0- 7
Second Quarter
WIS-Endicott 40 yard field goal, 11:11.
WIS-J.Peavy 46 yard rush (Endicott kick), 7:33.
NW-Au.Carr 13 yard pass from Thorson (Jk.Mitchell kick), 0:39.
Third Quarter
WIS-Endicott 28 yard field goal, 8:06.
Fourth Quarter
WIS-C.Clement 2 yard rush (Ingold rush), 8:57.
TEAM STATISTICS
WIS NW
First Downs 21 14
Rushes-Yards 57-190 19-39
Passing 143 277
Sacked-Yds Lost 0-0 2-11
Comp-Att-Int 13-22-0 28-52-0
Return Yards 38 18
Punts 7-37.3 8-39.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 1-10 5-28
Time of Possession 40:25 19:35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-WIS, C.Clement 32-106, B.Shaw 11-54, J.Peavy 1-46, Ogunbowale 3-12, Ba.Houston 2-6, Ingold 2-5, Hornibrook 2-2, AJ.Taylor 1-(minus 4). NW, Js.Jackson 13-42, Thorson 6-(minus 3).
PASSING-WIS, Hornibrook 11-19-0-92, Ba.Houston 2-3-0-51. NW, Thorson 28-52-0-277.
RECEIVING-WIS, J.Peavy 4-73, Wheelwright 3-28, Fumagalli 2-18, C.Clement 2-11, G.Rushing 1-15, Ogunbowale 1-(minus 2). NW, Au.Carr 12-132, Scanlan 5-46, F.Nagel 4-37, Ma.Wilson 3-16, G.Dickerson 2-30, Vault 1-15, Js.Jackson 1-1.
No. 3 Michigan 59,
Maryland 3
Wilton Speight completed 19 of 24 passes for a career-high 362 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wolverines to the rout in front of 110,626 fans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan (9-0, 6-0) entered the game averaging 477.1 yards per game and 6.4 yards per play and improved on those numbers against a Maryland defense that entered allowing 401.5 yards per game and 5.4 yards per play.
Michigan amassed 402 yards in the first half alone and scored on all five of its possessions to build a 35-0 lead.
Indiana 33, Rutgers 27
Devine Redding scored two touchdowns and the Hoosiers overcame a nightmare performance on special teams to fend off the Scarlet Knights at Piscataway, N.J.
Trailing late in the third quarter, Redding scored on a 34-yard touchdown run to put Indiana up 26-24. He then caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Richard Lagow in the fourth quarter to help the Hoosiers survive a stern test from Rutgers.
Illinois 31, Michigan State 27
Illinois had lost six of its last seven games, so after it gave up a touchdown with less than three minutes to play, it seemed another loss was coming at Champaign, Ill.
Instead, the Fighting Illini marched down the field and with the aid of two pass interference calls on Michigan State, scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr. to sophomore Sam Mays with 1:35 to play to take a 31-27 lead.
Michigan State has lost seven straight.
TOP 10
Mississippi State 35,
No. 4 Texas A&M 28
Sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald accounted for four touchdowns and had 391 yards of total offense to lead the Bulldogs to a stunning upset of the Aggies in a Southeastern Conference contest at Starkville, Miss.
Fitzgerald passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns and added 182 yards and two scores on the ground. Senior receiver Fred Ross caught six passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs (4-5, 2-3 SEC), who outgained the Aggies 574-382.
Texas A&M was surprisingly ranked fourth in the initial College Football Playoff of the season and assured it will take a significant drop in Tuesday’s second poll.
Aggies senior quarterback Trevor Knight departed in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and junior Jake Hubenak completed 11 of 17 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in his place. Sophomore receiver Christian Kirk returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown and caught seven passes for 144 yards and one touchdown.
The Aggies were powerless to stop Mississippi State’s ground assault. The Bulldogs finished with 365 rushing yards with Fitzgerald and sophomore running back Aeris Williams (140 yards, one touchdown) each having big days.
No. 2 Clemson 54, Syracuse 0
The Tigers bolted to a 30-point halftime lead and coasted past the Orange in an Atlantic Coast Conference game in Clemson, S.C.
The biggest concern for second-ranked Clemson (9-0, 6-0) was the health of junior quarterback Deshaun Watson, who suffered a bruised shoulder on a 13-yard run late in the first half. Watson was available for the second half, but did not return.
He wasn’t needed as Clemson’s backups put the finishing touches on the Tigers’ 21st consecutive home victory.
No. 7 Louisville 52,
Boston College 7
Lamar Jackson became the first quarterback in Louisville history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season as the Cardinals routed the Eagles in an ACC game in Boston.
The sophomore and Heisman Trophy hopeful accumulated 416 total yards (231 rushing, 185 passing) and seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) to add to his national lead of 45 total scores (26 passing, 19 rushing). It marked the third time this season Jackson totaled seven touchdowns in a game, while no other FBS player has accomplished the feat more than once.
James Quick had 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns and Jaylen Smith (123 yards) caught another score for Louisville (8-1, 6-1 ACC).
No. 9 Auburn 23,
Vanderbilt 16
The Commodores went toe to toe with the Tigers on the road, but Auburn (7-2, 5-1) hung on to thwart a last-minute drive and preserve a narrow SEC victory.
Quarterback Sean White came off the bench to throw the go-ahead touchdown early in the second half.
