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Big Ten Game of the Week

No. 2 Penn State 31, No. 16 Purdue 25
Second-ranked Penn State converted three turnovers into 21 points and survived a 379-yard passing effort by Drew Brees to move to 8-0 on the season, 4-0 in Big Ten games. Penn State forced Brees into four incomplete passes in the final minute after he had moved the Boilermakers (5-3, 2-3) 58 yards to a first down at the 12 with 31 seconds remaining.

The victory was the 315th for Penn State's Joe Paterno, moving him past Amos Alonzo Stagg into third place among major-college coaches and within eight of Bear Bryant's record total. It was the 10th consecutive victory for Penn State, the second-longest winning streak among majors (behind Marshall's 11).

Penn State got two defensive touchdowns by harassing Brees -- the second week in a row the Purdue quarterback has been victimized for two opposing TDs. LaVar Arrington forced a fumble while sacking Brees, picking up the ball at the 2 and carrying it into the end zone. Defensive end Courtney Brown batted a pass into the air, caught it, and ran it in for a 25-yard TD.

Other Big Ten action

No. 17 Wisconsin 40, No. 11 Michigan State 10
Ron Dayne used the nation's No. 1 defense to get himself right back into -- and maybe even to the top -- of the Heisman Trophy race. The burly Wisconsin tailback rushed for 214 yards, including touchdowns of 51 and 15 yards to lead the resurgent Badgers (6-2, 4-1).

Michigan State had started the season with six victories, but is now 6-2 (3-2 Big Ten), for the second straight week jump-starting an opponent's Heisman hopes (Purdue QB Drew Brees threw for over 500 yards against the Spartans last week).

Vitaly Pisetsky booted four field goals for the Badgers, including a 49-yarder late in the first quarter.

Dayne now needs to average 161 yards in Wisconsin's final three games against Northwestern, Purdue and Iowa to break the NCAA career rushing record.

Illinois 35, No. 9 Michigan, 29
The Wolverines held a 27-7 lead with just over six minutes to play in the third quarter, but watched along with a horrified capacity crowd in the Big House as the Illini fought back to score 28 of the game's final 30 points. It is by far the biggest victory for Illinois in the three seasons under Ron Turner, and just the Illini's second victory at Michigan since 1966.

The Illini opened the scoring when Kurt Kittner hit Jameel Cook for a 6-yard TD in the first quarter before the visitors went into an offensive funk. Michigan built a 20-point advantage, with Tom Brady throwing for TDs of 6 and 31 yards and Anthony Thomas scoring on runs of 25 and 1. From there, Kittner and Rocky Harvey took control, with Kittner hitting for two more TDs, including a 59-yarder to Harvey, who also accounted for a decisive 54-yard scoring run with less than a minute to play.

Suddenly, with a 4-3 overall record (1-3 in the Big Ten), Illinois can get to a bowl game by winning two of its last four games -- which include Northwestern and Iowa.

No. 22 Ohio State 20, No. 24 Minnesota 17
With the already forgettable season on the verge of getting away from them, the Buckeyes came alive in the second half in the Metrodome. Ohio State RB Michael Wiley had a fine day indoors, scoring twice in pacing the Buckeyes to the crucial victory. The senior gave the Buckeyes an early lead with a 3-yard burst, and then helped them overcome a 10-7 Minnesota lead by breaking off a 44-yard run to put Ohio State back on top.

Thomas Hamner would put the Gophers (5-2, 2-2) back on top late in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes survived on a pair of Dan Stultz field goals in the fourth quarter. Stultz split the uprights from 43 yards to tie the game with 6:58 to play, and then put Ohio State ahead for good with 1:15 to play when he made good from 40 out.

The win was a crucial one for Ohio State (5-3, 2-2), which must win seven games this year to qualify for a bowl. Minnesota still needs only to win one of its last four to make the postseason.

Indiana 38, Iowa 31
Antwaan Randle El threw four touchdown passes and Indiana stopped Iowa on the 4-yard line as time expired in a wild game.

Iowa quarterback Scott Mullen, making his first start of the season for injured Randy Reiners, tied a school record with 60 pass attempts, completing 36 for 426 yards but was intercepted twice for the Hawkeyes (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten). Randle El, rebounding from a 10-of-25 performance in last week's 59-0 loss to Wisconsin, threw for 247 yards as the Hoosiers (4-4, 3-2) took a 31-14 lead late in the third quarter.