BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Louisville Almost Upsets Ohio State

Seventeenth-ranked Ohio State was favored to roll over Louisville by 17 points, but the Buckeyes ended up winning, 20-19, Saturday at Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State was saved when a heavy rush by Tim Wilkinson forced Jeff Brohm’s two-point conversion pass to float over the head of Ralph Dawkins with 33 seconds left.

Trailing, 20-13, Louisville drove 67 yards for a touchdown, which came on Dawkins’ two-yard run with 33 seconds to play.

On the conversion, Wilkinson broke into the Louisville backfield virtually at the snap of the ball, and Brohm threw into the end zone just as Wilkinson hit him.

“Their lineman shot right up the middle and I saw him right away in my face,” Brohm said.

“I couldn’t quite square around. I tried to give it some air, but it just didn’t work. I saw Dawkins right before I threw it. I knew there was one man between us, but I thought (Dawkins) might run it down.”

On the ensuing on-side kick, Louisville’s Ray Buchanan picked up the bouncing ball and ran deep into Ohio State territory. But the play was nullified because Buchanan picked up the ball before it had gone the necessary 10 yards.

Ohio State took possession and ran out the clock.

“It’s pointless to go for a tie,” said Louisville Coach Howard Schnellenberger, who is 0-4-1 against Big Ten teams. “We’ve tied a Big Ten school before but we haven’t beaten one, and we came up here to do that,” he said.

Ohio State got what proved to be the winning points with 3:09 to play on Tim Williams’ 26-yard field goal.

Robert Smith, who two years ago broke Archie Griffin’s school rushing record for freshmen, made his first appearance since quitting the team just before the start of the 1991 season.

Smith gained 47 yards in 11 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with bruised ribs.

Illinois 30, Northern Illinois 14--Jason Verduzco passed for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Illini at Champaign, Ill., in the first meeting between the two schools.

Illinois built a 10-point lead by halftime, but got a scare in the third quarter after linebacker Scott Hein picked off a Verduzco pass on the Illinois 27. That set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Rob Ragai to tight end Jeff Wroblewski, making the score 17-14.

But then Verduzco’s three-yard pass to tight end Kraig Koester gave Illinois a 24-14 lead, and Verduzco scored on a one-yard keeper with 43 seconds left.