BIG TEN ROUNDUP : No. 3 Michigan Clinches at Least a Tie for Title

Michael Taylor threw four touchdown passes, three to Greg McMurtry, and No. 3 Michigan clinched at least a share of its second consecutive Big Ten championship Saturday with a 49-15 victory over Minnesota at Minneapolis.

Michigan, 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference, can clinch its 34th Big Ten title and its second consecutive trip to the Rose Bowl with a win over Ohio State next Saturday.

If Michigan loses, Illinois will get the Rose Bowl bid with a win over Northwestern. Should Michigan lose and Illinois lose or tie, Ohio State will go to Pasadena.

Darrell Thompson, Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher with 4,392 yards, ran 27 times for 125 yards for Minnesota (5-5 and 3-4). He became the first runner to get at least 100 yards against Michigan this season.

The Wolverines had held their last seven opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. Thompson has 1,017 yards this season, the third time he has rushed for more than 1,000.

McMurtry, who finished with seven catches for 165 yards, tied a school record with his three scoring plays of 49, 34 and 25 yards. The record was first set by Ron Kramer against Missouri in 1955.

“I probably had a day like today back in high school, but nothing like this in college,” McMurtry said. “We knew that their secondary was somewhat inexperienced, so we wanted to test them. They gave us the pass all day long, and we just took it.”

Taylor’s four touchdown passes, including a three-yard pass to Allen Jefferson, tied the school record set by Steve Smith against Purdue in 1983 and Chris Zurbrugg against Purdue in 1984. Taylor completed 12 of 16 passes for 231 yards.

Minnesota Coach John Gutekunst said his defensive backs played “terrible,” adding: “They looked disoriented to me.”

Illinois 41, Indiana 28--At Champaign, Ill., George threw five touchdown passes, three to Mike Bellamy, and the No. 12 Fighting Illini stayed in the Rose Bowl chase.

Illinois (8-2) stayed tied with Ohio State in the Big Ten with a 6-1 record.

George threw to Bellamy on an 18-yard touchdown pass play in the first quarter, a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter--both set up by Indiana fumbles--and a four-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Indiana, which fell to 5-5 and 3-4, got a 34-yard field goal from Scott Bonnell in the first quarter and a 35-yard field goal from Bonnell in the second quarter.

Anthony Thompson, who finished with 182 yards in 38 carries, ran 20 yards for an Indiana touchdown in the third quarter, and set an NCAA career scoring record with 394 points, breaking by one the mark set by Derek Schmidt of Florida State from 1983 to 1986.

Ohio State 42, Wisconsin 22--Scottie Graham ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns at Columbus, Ohio, as the No. 22 Buckeyes stayed alive in the conference race.

The Buckeyes, 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference, won their sixth consecutive conference game and finished 6-0 at home.

Wisconsin (2-7 and 1-5) did not complete any of its eight passes and lost its fourth consecutive game.

Graham scored on third-quarter runs of 1 and 16 yards. He has rushed for 891 yards, the most by an Ohio State fullback since Pete Johnson topped the 1,000-yard mark in 1976.

Iowa 24, Purdue 0--Matt Rodgers ran for one touchdown and passed for another and Jim Johnson had four of Iowa’s school-record nine sacks at West Lafayette, Ind.

Rodgers, a sophomore quarterback, ran nine yards for a touchdown on the Hawkeyes’ first possession of the game, then threw to Danan Hughes on a 22-yard touchdown pass play, capping an 81-yard third-quarter drive.

Iowa (5-5 and 3-4) added a 35-yard field goal by George Murphy late in the third quarter, then held off a Purdue drive to the Hawkeyes’ two-yard line midway through the final quarter.

It was Iowa’s first shutout since a 59-0 victory over Illinois in 1985.