BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Fletcher’s Career Day Helps Wisconsin Win

Senior tailback Terrell Fletcher ran for a career-high 192 yards in a career-high 40 carries Saturday as Wisconsin defeated Illinois, 19-13, in a Big Ten game at Madison, Wis.

Darrell Bevell threw for two second-half touchdowns as Wisconsin, 6-4-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the Big Ten, earned a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 2.

The Badgers, winners of last season’s Rose Bowl game, will face a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference--Duke, North Carolina or North Carolina State.

Illinois (6-5, 4-4) settled for a trip to the Liberty Bowl to face East Carolina (7-4) on Dec. 31 in Memphis, Tenn.

Fletcher, for the second consecutive week, carried the Badgers in the absence of star senior tailback Brent Moss, who was suspended after his arrest on a drug charge Nov. 9.

Moss pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor cocaine possession charge Thursday and received two years’ probation, but he remained suspended from the team.

Freshman nose tackle John Todryk, who pleaded innocent on Tuesday to a charge of delivering an ounce of cocaine to an undercover agent, also was suspended by Coach Barry Alvarez.

Wisconsin overcame the distractions to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Bevell had touchdown pass plays of 13 yards to J.C. Dawkins and eight yards to fullback Ron Johnson after Illinois had taken a 7-3 lead on the opening drive of the second half.

Indiana 33, Purdue 29--Alex Smith ran for 245 yards and two touchdowns, setting Big Ten freshman rushing records for a game and a season in the Hoosiers victory at West Lafayette, Ind.

Smith, a redshirt freshman tailback, scored on a 66-yard run in the first quarter, then added the winning touchdown on a one-yarder early in the fourth quarter, three plays after a Purdue fumble.

After the Hoosiers (6-5, 3-5) took over at the Boilermaker 24, Smith lost a yard, ran 24 yards to the one and scored on the next play.

Purdue (4-5-2, 2-4-2), using third-string quarterback Brian Goehl after starter Billy Dicken was injured, threatened on its final two possessions.

The first time, the Boilermakers reached the Indiana 27 before Goehl was sacked by Nathan Davis and fumbled. The next time, Purdue got to the Indiana 26 before Goehl lost 13 yards on another sack by Davis, and after two incomplete passes, Indiana took over on downs with 44 seconds left and ran out the clock.

Iowa 49, Minnesota 42--Matt Sherman threw two touchdown passes and caught one and the Hawkeyes converted three turnovers into 21 points at Minneapolis.

Sherman, a redshirt freshman, threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns last week in his debut as a starter and followed that with an equally impressive showing against Minnesota. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

For the second year in a row against the Hawkeyes, turnovers killed the Gophers (3-8, 1-7). This time, Iowa (5-5-1, 3-4-1) converted a fumbled punt return, a fumbled kickoff return and an interception off Tim Schade into three touchdowns.

The Hawkeyes lost the lead twice before moving ahead for good with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Sherman took less than two minutes to march his team 73 yards, ending the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass play to Demo Odems to put Iowa up, 35-32.

Kerry Cooks intercepted Schade’s pass on the Minnesota 29 on the Gophers’ next possession. Four plays later, Sherman pitched the ball to Tim Dwight, who then connected with a wide-open Sherman in the end zone.

The 91 points were the most ever scored between the teams. The previous high was 75 in 1903.