SPORTING ALERT – Big Ten college football scores and results in Week 7 on Saturday, October 17.
No. 7 Michigan State beat state rival No. 12 Michigan in the pick of the Big Ten games this weekend.
The deciding moment at Michigan Stadium came on the last play of the contest when Michigan punter Blake O’Neill fumbled a low snap and Jalen Watts-Jackson ran the ball back 38 yards into the end zone for a touchdown.
Michigan State, who despite being undefeated coming into the game, were listed as underdogs – but won the game 27-23.
“You’ve gotta believe, I guess,” said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio during an interview with ESPN.
“We kept talking about being mentally strong and just kept playing.”
He added: “Michigan played a great game. It was a great football game tonight.”
Quarterback Connor Cook was 18 of 39 on passes and threw for 328 yards and one touchdown for Michigan State.
Dantonio was delighted with his QB’s efforts.
“He played outstanding,” Dantonio said. “He made big plays all night long.
“I can’t say enough about our football team. Tremendous effort. We just believed it.”
Victory on Saturday sees the Spartans improving to 7-0 overall on the season and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
Michigan slipped to 5-2 and 2-1 in conference play.
No. 17 Iowa muted a number of their critics on Saturday as well, after routing No. 20 Northwestern, 40-10 in a one-sided contest.
Sophomore running back Akrum Wadley, who stepped in for an injured teammate, ran for 204 yards and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns in the victory.
Northwestern, which struggled in a shut out 38-0 defeat against Michigan last week, failed to get going on offense again this week and were held to just 198 total yards.
With the win on Saturday, the Hawkeyes improved to 7-0, 3-0 Big Ten and stayed unbeaten on the season.
In other Big Ten college football scores, Nebraska dismissed Minnesota 48-25, Wisconsin finished 24-7 over Purdue, Rutgers came out on top in a high-scoring contest with Indiana, which ended 55-52 for men from Bloomington.
No. 1 Ohio State stayed undefeated on the season with a 38-10 victory over Penn State on Saturday night.
Coach Urban Meyer utilized the talents he has at his disposal at quarterback to full effect once again, after linking J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller together to bolster his offense.
Barrett, who played finisher in the red zone for the Buckeyes, running for 102 yards and two first-half touchdowns, before taking over at quarterback for Jones in the third quarter.
He went 4 of 4 on passes and threw for two more scores, while Jones, who started the game was only 9 for 15 for 84 yards without a touchdown.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 153 yards, his 12th successive time rushing for at least 100 yards – while scoring one touchdown.
Freshman Saquon Barkley ran for 194 yards and Chris Godwin caught three passes for 103 yards for Penn State in the defeat.
Ohio State improved to 7-0, 3-0 Big Ten, while the Nittany Lions, who had its five-game win streak stopped, fell to 5-2, 2-1.
BIG TEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCORES
No. 1 Ohio State 38, Penn State – Gametracker
No. 7 Michigan State 27, No. 12 Michigan 23 – Gametracker
No. 17 Iowa 40, No. 20 Northwestern 10 – Gametracker
Wisconsin 24, Purdue 7 – Gametracker
Nebraska 48, Minnesota 25 – Gametracker
Rutgers 55, Indiana 52 – Gametracker
hawkeys dominated the wholr game. was really impressed with the defensive backfield which has been suspect in recent years. Go hawkeys