Big Ten Roundup : Purdue Fails to Beat the Clock--or Iowa

Rob Houghtlin kicked a 25-yard field goal with 1:08 left to give No. 5-ranked Iowa a 27-24 victory over Purdue Saturday in a Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind.

The Hawkeyes, 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten, took over sole possession of first place in the conference since Ohio State was upset by Wisconsin, 12-7. Michigan is second at 5-1-1.

Purdue fell to 4-6 and 2-5.

Houghtlin’s kick capped a 64-yard drive that consumed 5:22.

After the winning kick, Purdue drove to the Hawkeye 20-yard line but ran out of time when Rodney Carter caught a pass but failed to run out of bounds with no timeouts. Jim Everett desperately threw a pass out of bounds as time expired.

“I’m mad,” Purdue Coach Leon Burtnett said after the game. “When you consider you’re playing at home, it’s unbelievable how our people let the clock run out.

“We had at least one second left, enough time to get one play off, which is all we wanted. The officials could have ruled there was one second left. They should have reset the clock at one second.

“They said, ‘Don’t get mad at us . . . jump on your own people (running the clock).’ Big Ten officials are the worst in the country. They don’t know the rules.”

Purdue moved into a 24-24 tie with 6:35 left when James Medlock capped a seven-minute, 72-yard march with a one-yard plunge.

Iowa’s David Hudson ran 19 times for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns, while teammate Ronnie Harmon ran 25 times for 122 yards and another touchdown. Harmon also caught 9 passes for 118 yards.

Iowa’s rushing game made the difference as the passing battle between Iowa’s Chuck Long and Everett finished in almost a dead heat.

Long, directing the nation’s No. 4 passing attack, completed 20 of 31 for 268 yards. Everett, guiding the nation’s No. 2 passing offense, completed 23 of 32 for 325 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan State 32, Northwestern 0--Michigan State, with no hope of winning the Big Ten championship, shut out Northwestern at East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State, 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten, finishes the regular season at Wisconsin next Saturday. The Spartans have won four straight. Northwestern fell to 3-7 and 1-6.

Michigan State’s outstanding sophomore running back, Lorenzo White, gained 150 yards in 30 carries, bringing his season total to 1,685 yards. He moved from fifth place to third on the league single-season rushing list. He is 10 yards behind former Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin and 79 yards behind Keith Byars, both of Ohio State.

White scored two touchdowns Saturday, running 22 yards around left end in the first quarter and four yards to cap a 90-yard, 16-play Spartan drive early in the third quarter.

Michigan State quarterback Dave Yarema passed for a career-high 246 yards, with 81 and 45 coming on touchdown pass plays.

Illinois 41, Indiana 24--Fullback Thomas Rooks caught a pass for one touchdown and ran for two more as Illinois won at Champaign, Ill.

Rooks caught a seven-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jack Trudeau in the first quarter, ran four yards into the end zone in the third quarter and three yards for a score in the fourth quarter.

Rooks, a senior, carried 26 times for 163 yards to become Illinois’ all-time leading career rusher with 2,759 yards, six more than Jim Grabowski gained in 1963-65.

Illinois improved its record to 5-4-1 and 4-2-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana, suffering its sixth straight loss, fell to 4-6 and 1-6.