STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Iowa slugged out an ugly victory in soggy Happy Valley to upset Penn State for the second consecutive year.
Adrian Clayborn returned a block punt for a touchdown and the Hawkeyes beat mistake-prone No. 5 Penn State 21-10 on Saturday night.
A year after a 24-23 loss knocked the Nittany Lions out of the national title race, the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took down Penn State (3-1, 0-1) again, this time in a drenching rainstorm.
"It was a team loss. No one person, or one play lost it," Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said. "We got licked."
After Iowa fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter, its defense shut down quarterback Daryll Clark and the Penn State Spread HD offense with withering pressure. Broderick Binns' sack led to a safety in the second quarter.
A defensive end, Clayborn rumbled 53 yards after blocking the punt to give Iowa an 11-10 lead with 12:21 left.
Clark was intercepted on the next drive to set up Adam Robinson's 13-yard touchdown run to put the Hawkeyes up 18-10 with 8:32 left.
It didn't get any better for Penn State.
A 36-yard punt return by Chaz Powell, plus a 15-yard personal foul penalty gave the Nittany Lions the ball at the Iowa 36 after Robinson'stouchdown.
But tailback Evan Royster fumbled the ball away on the next play, appearing to lose control after trying to lunge for extra yardage.
"I thought the kids hung in there, tried to come back, and they kept making mistakes," Paterno said.
In other Big Ten games, Tate Forcier threw a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 left to give No. 23 Michigan a 36-33 victory over Indiana on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1) had four go-ahead scores - including with 8:57 left on Darius Willis' 85-yard run - and easily outgained Michigan (4-0, 1-0) with 467 yards of offense. ... Scott Tolzien threw for 243 yards and a careerhigh four touchdowns, leading Wisconsin past Michigan State 38-30 in Madison, Wis. Garrett Graham caught three touchdown passes for the Badgers (4-0, 1-0), who avenged a last-second loss to the Spartans (1-3, 0-1) last season. ... Duane Bennett ran for a career-high three touchdowns, and Adam Weber threw for two more to lead Minnesota to a 35-24 victory over Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. TheGolden Gophers (3-1, 1-0) led most of the way and took the league opener after losing in the final seconds to Northwestern (2-2, 0-1) the previous two years. ... Dan Herron slogged through a downpour for two touchdowns on Saturday and No. 13 Ohio State collected a second consecutive shutout for the first time in 13 years, beating mistake-prone Illinois 30-0 in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0) and Terrelle Pryor had 0 passing yards in the first half and finished with just 82. He did throw a touchdown with 1:18 left. Juice Williams, who engineered a 28-21 upset of top-ranked Ohio State the last time the Illini (1-2, 0-1) came to Ohio Stadium, and his offense were held to 170 yards. ... A hobbled Jimmy Clausen completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph with 24.8 seconds to play, and Notre Dame rallied for a 24-21 victory over Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Clausen, slowed by a turf toe injury on hisright foot, split time with Dayne Crist but returned to the game when it got tight in the fourth quarter. Clausen and the Irish took over trailing 21-17 with 3:41 to go. He completed a 22-yard pass to Rudolph to move the ball to the Purdue 32, but a sack forced Notre Dame into a third-and-14. Clausen completed a 15-yard pass to Robby Parris for a first down. A 17-yarder to Golden Tate set up a first-and-goal at the 4. After three plays netted 2 yards, Clausen found Rudolph in the end zone for the winner.
MID-AMERICAN
Boise State cruises
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Kellen Moore was nearly flawless for No. 8 Boise State, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos' 49-14 victory over Bowling Green Saturday.
Boise State's big play offense needed four plays or less on its first six scoring drives. The Broncos (4-0) didn't score until a minute into the second quarter when receiver Titus Young took a pitch from Moore and ran 18 yards for a touchdown.
That was all the spark they needed.
Doug Martin scored on a 34-yard run down the right sideline two minutes later and then Young scored 18 second after that. The Broncos had gotten the ball back when Boise State's Brandyn Thompson intercepted Tyler Sheehan's tipped pass.
On the next play, Young ran 25 yards untouched into the end zone, giving the Broncos a 22-0 lead.
Moore threw for 195 yards in the second quarter alone, completing eight consecutivepasses at one point.
He finished 17 of 21, spreading the ball around to six different receivers. Tyler Shoemaker had 105 yards on four catches.
Bowling Green (1-3), hosting a top-10 team for the first time in school history, hung around early. The Falcons opened the game with a seven-minute drive, but came up empty after Jerry Phillips missed a 29-yard field goal.
In other games involving Mid-American Conference teams, Anthony Bowman returned a kickoff 92 yards and Freddy Cortez kicked three field goals to help Kent State defeat Miami (Ohio) 29-19 in Kent, Ohio. The Golden Flashes (2-2) had only 77 yards in the air on 5-of-11 passing, but one throw was a 56-yard touchdown from Spencer Keith (Pulaski Academy) to Jameson Konz. ... Elijah Joseph returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown and James Dixon scored on a 92-yard kickoff return to help Temple beat Buffalo 37-13 in Philadelphia. The Owls (1-2, 1-0 ) defeated Buffalo (1-3, 0-1) for the first time since 1970. ... Dan LeFevour threwfour touchdown passes and ran for 140 yards, including two more touchdowns, in Central Michigan's 48-21 victory over Akron in Mount Pleasant, Mich. LeFevour alone outrushed the entire Akron team (1-3, 0-1), which ran for 69 yards, thanks to a 53-yard dash in the first quarter that set Central Michigan (3-1, 1-0) up for its first touchdown on the next play. ... Tim Hiller threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns to lift Western Michigan to a 24-10 victory over Hofstra in Kalamazoo, Mich. Hiller completed 34 of 43 passes in the game and was intercepted once. Brandon West ran for 128 yards and a touchdown, and Jordan White caught nine passes for 101 yards and another score for the Broncos (2-2). ... Nathan Enderle threw three touchdown passes to lead Idaho to a 34-31 victory over Northern Illinois. Enderle was 18 of 23 for 270 yards for the Vandals (3-1). Mike Salerno kicked three field goals for Northern Illinois (2-2).
Sports, Pages 36 on 09/27/2009