Michigan keeps its Big Ten title hopes alive

John Navarre threw two touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards and the 13th-ranked Wolverines shut down No. 10 Purdue's passing game in a 31-3 victory at Ann Arbor on Saturday that moved them into second place in the conference.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten Saturday: Ohio State had a 35-6 victory at Indiana; visiting Minnesota downed Illinois 36-10; Iowa disposed of visiting Penn State 26-14; and lowly Northwestern upset Wisconsin 16-7 at Evanston.

The Wolverines (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) took control of the game with two first-quarter TDs. Their stingy defense never gave the Boilermakers (6-2, 3-1) a chance to win at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1966.

Michigan's win sets up a game next week at No. 11 Michigan State (7-1, 4-0) that will have more than just local interest. The Wolverines are alone in second place behind the Spartans, the only team without a Big Ten loss.

Steve Breaston's 21-yard end-around gave the Wolverines a 14-0 lead, which they maintained until halftime. Markus Curry's 2-yard fumble return, after Carl Diggs forced a fumble, put Michigan ahead 28-3 early in the fourth quarter.

At Bloomington, Ohio State's beleaguered offense finally put it together.

Lydell Ross rushed for a career-high 167 yards and three touchdowns, backup receiver Santonio Holmes caught two touchdown passes and Craig Krenzel threw for 272 yards as the eighth-ranked Buckeyes routed Indiana.

The Hoosiers (1-7, 0-4) lost their 10th straight Big Ten game and 11th in a row to Ohio State. The Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1) won their first road game of the season -- if it could be called that.

With more than half the sold-out crowd wearing scarlet and gray, Ohio State chants resounded throughout rain-soaked Memorial Stadium throughout the game while boos reverberated when Buckeye fans didn't like a call.

Meanwhile, Laurence Maroney ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns and Asad Abdul-Khaliq threw three TD passes as Minnesota beat Illinois.

Marion Barber III added 129 yards rushing to help Minnesota roll up 575 yards in total offense, its fourth game of more than 500 yards. The Gophers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have had only one game under 400 yards this season.

Minnesota snapped a two-game losing streak, while Illinois (1-8, 0-5) lost its seventh straight game.

At Iowa City, the No. 16 Hawkeyes returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the third quarter and used a long fumble return to set up another score in handing Penn State its fourth straight loss.

The loss by the Nittany Lions (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) dropped coach Joe Paterno into second place for most wins ever in Division I-A. Florida State's Bobby Bowden beat Wake Forest 48-24 later Saturday for his 339th career win, breaking a tie with Paterno.

In Northwestern's upset of No. 20 Wisconsin, Jason Wright caught a 53-yard touchdown pass and added a 1-yard scoring run following a fake field goal.

The Wildcats (4-4, 2-2 Big Ten) got 104 yards rushing from Noah Herron, who keyed the game's biggest and most surprising play.

Northwestern led 9-7 and faced fourth-and-6 at the 23 when coach Randy Walker sent in his field-goal unit and fooled everyone.

Eric Batis took the snap, slipped the ball between the legs of Herron and ran left with a group of blockers to draw the defense. Herron stood still for a couple of counts, then took off with the ball to the right for a 20-yard gain and a first down.

Wright scored two plays later to give Northwestern a 16-7 lead in the third quarter, silencing the traveling Wisconsin fans who outnumbered the home crowd.

Originally published Monday, October 27, 2003