Last week the Former Foes on Penn State's schedule had a bad week, most of them losing close games. This week, the boys bounced back as 6 of the the 8 teams that played won. 6 still have bowl aspirations (sorry Indiana) and all but 1 (sorry Indiana) are .500 or better.
Indiana State (6-4)
Beat Missouri State 28-20
After two tough losses in a row the Sycamores rebound with a close win. Indiana State got 206 yards of rushing and 2 TD’s from Shakir Bell and just enough passing from Ronnie Fouch for the victory. Early in the third the Bears scored when running back Chris Douglas caught a TD pass from quarterback Trevor Wooden to take a slim 1 point lead. 36 of Ronnie Fouch’s 90 yards then came in the form a touchdown pass to Chris Douglas and the Sycamores never looked back.
Next up: Southern Illinois
#3 Alabama (9-1)
Beat to Mississippi State 24-7
Alabama got back to well…Alabama football shutting down Mississippi State until there were 12 minutes to play. The Tide held the Bulldogs to just 131 total yards and 9 first downs building a 17-0 lead before giving up their only touchdown of the day. Trent Richardson carried the ball 32 times for 127 and a touchdown, and Ed Lacy chipped in 96 on just 11 carries. It wasn’t all sunshine and happiness though, Alabama struggled in the kicking game again, missing two first half field goals.
Next up: Georgia Southern
Temple (6-4)
Beat Miami (of the Ohio variety) 24-21
Sticking with the rebound win theme, Temple won a close one after losing two in a row. The Owls did it without the services of star running back Bernard Pierce who was nursing an injury. Backup Matt Brown took up the slack carrying the ball 24 times for 123 yards and a TD and Quarterback Chris Coyer, making his first career start, tossing a touchdown and running for one. The difference in the game was in the second, a quarter that saw two unanswered Temple touchdowns.
Next up: Army
Eastern Michigan (6-4)
Beat Buffalo 30-17
While the other former foes were busy winning close games, Eastern Michigan decided to turn on the offense and leave no doubt. Eagles quarterback Alex Gillett completed 10 of his 15 passes for an impressive 234 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also ran the ball for 89 yards just for fun. The Eagles outgained Buffalo 413 to 252 and converted 7 of their 16 third downs while holding the Bulls to just 1. The game was a 17-16 Buffalo lead late in the third but Eastern scored two unanswered touchdowns for the final.
Next up: Kent State
Indiana (1-9)
Lost to Bye (anything's possible with the Hoosiers)
Next up: Michigan State
Iowa (6-4)
Lost to Michigan state 37-21
After upsetting Michigan the week before, the Hawkeyes laid an egg against Michigan's little brother, a team that hasn't beati Iowa on their home turf in seven straight tries. Sparty broke open a second quarter 17-7 lead by scoring two straight touchdowns in a 36 second span. The 31-7 halftime lead was too much for Iowa to overcome, although they gave it a valiant effort scoring 2 touchdowns in the third quarter.
Michigan State's defense wasn't stellar, they gave up 349 total yards, but they held the B1G's leading rusher Marcus Coker to only 57 yards on 21 carries. Dr. Kirk Cousins* threw for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns and Le'Veon Bell ran for 112 yards and a TD. The lone bright spot for Iowa was senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt who caught 8 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in his final home game.
Next up: Purdue
Purdue (5-5)
Beat Ohio State 26-23 OT
Trailing the entire game, Ohio State drove down the field in the final minutes and sent the game into overtime on a 4th down play. OSU quarterback Braxton Miller scrambled on 4th and 3 from the Purdue 13 and found Jordan Hall in the end zone to tie the game. Ohio State took the ball first and could only manage a field goal. Purdue quarterback Robert Marve completed a 14 yard pass on 3rd and 12 from the 15 setting up a 1st and goal. Marve ran the ball in on a quaterback sneak on the next play to give the Boilermakers the win.
Next up: Iowa
Northwestern (5-5)
Beat Rice 28-6
After a streak that saw Northwestern lose 5 in a row, the Wildcats are back to .500 after winning 3 in a row. Northwestern doubled Rice in total yardage 533 to 254. Dan Persa had ridiculous Xbox numbers completing 25 of 32 passes for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns including a 90-yarder to wide receiver Jeremy Ebert. Speaking of which, Ebert had a stat-explosion himself catching 3 passes for 116 yards. What that's not impressive? If I tell you that was his stats for the 1st quarter would you be impressed? He ended with 7 catches for 208 yards (that's almost 30 yards a catch for those of you doing the math at home) and 2 touchdowns. The Owl's only score came in garbage time with 4:16 to play after Northwestern was tired of scoring.
Next up: Minnesota
Illinois (6-4)
Lost to Michigan 31-14
Denard Robinson took a big hit and was knocked out of the game in the third quarter but it didn't matter. Michigan's defense didn't allow Illinois past the 50 yard line until late in the 3rd and when they did cornerback J.T. Floyd picked off a Nathan Scheelhaase pass and returned it 43 yards to set up a Michigan touchdown that made it a 17 point lead in the 4th.
Denard ran for 2 touchdowns before getting knocked out and Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for 192 yards and score. A.J. Jenkins was the lone bright spot for the Fighting Zookers catching 8 passes for 103 yards. The game was sloppy, both teams had 3 turnovers.
Next up: Wisconsin
*is it me or does it seem like Cousins has been at MSU for 6 years?
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