Former Foes: Week 12

Ohio (8-3)

Lost to Ball State(8-3) 52-27

Beau Blankenship rushed for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as Ball State rolled past the Bobcats last Wednesday night. Jahwan Edwards and Horactio Banks combined for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns as Ball State rushed for 357 yards and 588 yards total. This game was back and fourth as Ohio scored a 3rd quarter touchdown to take a 3-point lead, but Ball scored three unanswered touchdowns in the 4th quarter as Ohio ran out of gas.

After starting out 7-0, Ohio has lost 3 of its last 4 games, and it doesn't get any easier, Ohio closes out the regular season Friday with a ranked Kent State.

Next up: #23 Kent State (10-1)

Virginia (4-7)

Lost to North Carolina (7-4) 37-13

Virginia had the ball 1st and goal at UNC's 8 yard line late in the 3rd with a chance to tie the game. North Carolina stuffed a 4th and goal from the 1 and scored 3 unanswered touchdowns to turn a 7-point game into a blowout win. Quarterback Bryn Renner threw for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns, including 2 in the 4th. North Carolina put an end to any slim hopes Virginia had of making it to a bowl game.

Next up: Virginia Tech (5-6)

Navy (7-4)

Beat Texas State (3-7) 21-10

The Midshipmen gave up 405 yards of offense against Texas State but played the Penn State-esque bend but don't suck defense and held Texas out of the end zone until midway through the 4th quarter. Fullback Noah Copeland rushed 17 times for 110 yards and 2 scores and fellow running back Gee Gee Greene ran for a score as well. Like they always do, Navy won with a heavy dose of running; they only passed for 35 yards, but were able to rush for 407. The win sets up the annual Army/Navy game, where the winner will claim the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for football supremacy among U.S. service academies.

Next up: Army (2-9)

Temple (4-6)

Beat Army (2-9) 63-32

Speaking of Army....

How do you score 63 points while throwing less than 50 yards through the air? When you have a running back who sets Big East records. Montel Harris rushed 36 times for 351 yards and 7 touchdowns. No, none of those are typos--he had Xbox-type numbers. The yardage and touchdowns are both Big East records, and had he scored one more time, he would have tied the NCAA record held by Howard Griffith of Illinois. Think about this: he's in the record books with the likes of Edgerrin James and Ray Rice. Not too shabby.

The Owls stopped a 4-game skid by scoring more points than they did in those 4 games combined (54). Army, which rushed for 407 yards themselves, came into the game as the nation's top rushing team, and got beat at their own game giving up 534 yards on the ground.

Next up: Syracuse (6-5)

Illinois (2-9)

Lost to Purdue (5-6) 20-17

Purdue scored 2 field goals to Illinois' 1 in the second quarter, then the Boilermakers scored 2 touchdowns to Illinois' 1 in the third quarter to take a 20-10 lead to the 4th. Illinois scored a late touchdown to make the score close, but the Purdue defense held. Neither team had a great passing day, but Purdue quarterback Robert Marve made the most of his chances tossing a 63 yard touchdown to Akeem Hunt. Nathan Scheelhaase led Illinois in rushing and passing again but managed only 1 TD on a 2 yard run. For Purdue, Akeem Shavers and Ralph Bolden combined for 192 yards and a score. Purdue has won two in a row now, and only Indiana stands in the way of the Boilermakers making it to a bowl for the second consecutive season.

Next up: Northwestern (8-3)

Northwestern (8-3)

Beat Michigan State (5-6) 23-20

This game looked like it might end as ugly as Sparty's season; the halftime score was 6-5, thanks to 3 field goals and a safety. But the teams' offenses showed up in the second half as both teams scored two touchdowns to tie the score at 20 after the two-point conversion. Northwestern kicker Jeff Budzien had 3 field goals on the day including a 27 yarder with 7:30 to play, and the defense made the score stick. Michigan State had 4 turnovers, including 2 inside the Wildcats 5 yard line in the first half.

Next up: Illinois (2-9)

Iowa (4-7)

Lost to #21 Michigan (8-3) 42-17

Denard Robinson returned for Michigan but at running back as Devin Gardner started at quarterback. The combination worked; the Wolverines opened up a 14-10 second quarter lead by scoring 4 touchdowns in a row to rout Iowa. Gardner threw for 314 yards and threw three TDs, and he rushed for 37 yards and 3 more scores. For his part, Robinson did well at his new positio,n rushing 13 times for 98 yards and a 7.5 average per carry. Iowa gets to sleepwalk through another beatdown Friday at the hands of Nebraska and then Hawkeye fans can concentrate on basketball season.

Next up: Nebraska (9-2)

Ohio State (11-0)

Beat Wisconsin (7-4) 21-14 OT

Montee Ball tied the record for career touchdowns in a season with his 78th and ran for 191 yards on a personal record 39 carries but he fumbled away what would be the record breaking TD with 2:46 to go in the game. Wisconsin did send the game into overtime with a Jacob Petersen touchdown catch with 8 seconds to go, but Ohio State scored on a Carlos Hyde 2 yard run and held Wisconsin out for the win in OT. Ohio State is playing for the undefeated season at this point, as sanctions won't let them play in the Big Ten championship or a bowl game, so the Buckeyes have to hope they can beat Michigan and everyone ahead of them in the AP lose.

Next up: #19 Michigan (8-3)

Purdue(5-6)

Beat Illinois (2-9) 23-20

Next up: Indiana (4-7)

Nebraska (9-2)

Beat Minnesota(6-5) 38-14

Taylor Martinez completed 21 of his 29 passes for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nebraska didn't need the officials in this one as the Blackshirts held Minnesota to just 177 yards of total offense on "Salute to Tom Osborne" day an Memorial Stadium. Running back Ameer Abdullah rushed for 79 yards, which put him over 1000 yards for the season. This game wasn't even as close as the score; Nebraska throttled the Gophers, opening up a 38-0 score before calling off the dogs in the 4th quarter when Minnesota scored two meaningless garbage touchdowns.

next up: Iowa (4-7)

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