BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Wisconsin Opens With a 56-0 Victory

Tailback Brent Moss, the nation’s leading returning rusher, ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as 10th-ranked Wisconsin opened its season with a 56-0 victory over Eastern Michigan at Madison, Wis.

Fellow senior tailback Terrell Fletcher added 100 yards and three touchdowns in 11 carries.

With star wide receiver Lee DeRamus in the hospital after suffering a broken left leg in practice on Thursday, Badger Coach Barry Alvarez turned to his reliable tailback tandem.

Last year, the two became the best rushing duo in Big Ten history when Moss (1,637) and Fletcher (996) combined for 2,633 yards.

Each ran for two scores in the first half as Wisconsin, coming off the winningest season in the school’s 105-year history, built a 35-0 halftime lead over the outclassed Eagles (0-2) of the Mid-American Conference before a sellout crowd of 77,745 at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Badgers returned 14 starters from last year’s 10-1-1 squad that shared the Big Ten title with Ohio State and defeated UCLA, 21-16, in the Rose Bowl.

Moss, who extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 12, showed he hasn’t lost a step since winning most valuable player honors in the Rose Bowl and Fletcher again showed that he should not be overlooked.

“With all the two-a-days and practices in the hot sun from Jan. 2 until today, it seemed like an eternity,” Fletcher said. “Yesterday, we weren’t saying, ‘It’s game time!’ We were saying, ‘It’s about time!’ ”

Indiana 35, Miami (Ohio) 14--Redshirt freshman Alex Smith rushed for 157 yards in the first half and finished with 191 as the Hoosiers romped at Bloomington, Ind.

Smith, who had 152 yards in 23 carries in his collegiate debut last week, carried 26 times in the first half and sat out the fourth quarter as Indiana (2-0) took command.

Indiana rushed for 314 yards against the Redskins (0-2), breaking the game open in the second half with a pair of 80-yard drives and a Memorial Stadium-record 97-yard return of an intercepted pass by Alfonzo Thurman.

Iowa 37, Iowa State 9--The Hawkeyes turned third-quarter fumbles by Cyclone quarterbacks Todd Doxzon and Robby Duncan into 17 points and won easily at Iowa City, Iowa.

The temperature on the field was 102 degrees at game time and both teams were sloppy. Iowa (2-0) committed three turnovers, including Ryan Terry’s fumble into the end zone, and Iowa State (0-2) had four turnovers.

Iowa State mistakes were the more costly and Iowa stretched its winning streak against the Cyclones to 12 games, earning its most lopsided victory in the series since 1987, when it won, 48-9.

Leading at halftime, 13-3, Iowa broke the game open after Doxzon fumbled on Iowa State’s first two plays from scrimmage in the third quarter.

Kansas 17, Michigan State 10--Asheiki Preston directed two long scoring drives to lead the mistake-prone Jayhawks before 48,100 at Lawrence, Kan., the biggest crowd ever to see a Kansas home opener.

Kansas (2-0) had three turnovers in the first half as Michigan State opened a 10-0 lead.

The Jayhawks went ahead for the first time at 14-10 with a 12-play, 74-yard drive on their first possession of the second half. Preston, who left the game in the fourth quarter because of a head injury, carried seven times for 36 yards in the go-ahead march.

The senior quarterback scored the winning touchdown on a one-yard sneak.

Minnesota 33, Pacific 7--Chris Darkins ran for a career-high 179 yards in 33 carries and scored two touchdowns at Minneapolis.

Neither Scott Eckers nor Tim Schade excelled in splitting time at quarterback but each passed for a touchdown as Minnesota rebounded from a 56-3 opening-game loss to Penn State.

Mike Chalberg tied a school record with four field goals.

Pacific (1-1) wasn’t able to duplicate its 1986 upset of Minnesota, the Big West school’s only victory ever over a Big Ten team.

Purdue 51, Toledo 17--Corey Rogers rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns and Joe Hagins, a starter on defense, ran for two other touchdowns at West Lafayette, Ind., as Purdue ended a 10-game losing streak.

The Boilermakers (1-0), whose 1-10 record last season was the school’s worst in almost 90 years, spotted the Rockets (1-1) a 17-7 lead in the second quarter before starting their comeback with a 12-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Derrick Brown.