COLLEGE FOOTBALL : BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Michigan Slogs Out a Victory

The story line was supposed to be Purdue’s powerful running game against Michigan’s stout defense. Mud changed all that.

A soggy field, freezing temperatures and wind gusting to 50 m.p.h. made decent football nearly impossible Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich., and the No. 13 Wolverines had to rely on Remy Hamilton’s field goal and Clarence Thompson’s safety for a 5-0 victory over Purdue.

“I think the conditions had a lot to do with our offensive ineffectiveness,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. “It was just a bad field.”

It was the lowest-scoring game at Michigan Stadium since the Wolverines, 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten, defeated Northwestern, 7-0, in 1972. Michigan held Purdue (3-5-1, 1-4-1) to only four first downs, one in the first half.

Neither team looked sharp. Michigan controlled the ball 37 minutes 22 seconds, but the Wolverines gained only 283 yards in 79 plays.

“You have to be down on that field to understand those playing conditions and realize just how difficult it was to play,” Carr said. “No, I’m not concerned over our offensive production [inside the 20-yard line]. The tarp used on the field didn’t cover the 20 and in, and we knew before the game it was going to be hazardous in those areas.”

It was snowing at kickoff time. The National Weather Service said the temperature was 31 degrees with wind-chill making it feel like minus-5. A crowd of 103,721 was announced, but it appeared there were never more than about 70,000 actually in Michigan Stadium.

Michigan missed two field-goal attempts and had one blocked.

Clarence Williams appeared to score on a 12-yard run late in the third quarter, but it was called back when Zach Adami was caught holding. On the next play, a pass by wide receiver Amani Toomer was intercepted, killing that drive.

Purdue, which had been averaging a Big Ten-best 252.3 yards on the ground, was held to 113 total yards, only 29 on the ground. The Boilermakers hurt their own cause, losing two of five fumbles and giving up one interception.

The Wolverines played the second half without Tshimanga Biakabutuka, who pulled a right calf muscle after gaining 84 yards in 14 carries in the first half.

Michigan’s defense, the third-best in the nation against the run, held Purdue fullback Mike Alstott to 19 yards in 11 carries, breaking Alstott’s string of eight consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

Michigan State 31, Indiana 13--Playing in frigid, windy and snowy Memorial Stadium, the Spartans (6-3-1, 4-2-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions in routing the Hoosiers (2-7, 0-6) at Bloomington, Ind.

Michigan State had possession of the ball only 24 seconds in the first quarter, but a 59-yard touchdown run by Marc Renaud on the first play gave the Spartans a 7-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Scott Greene took an Indiana punt 76 yards for the second touchdown.

On the next series, the Hoosiers closed within 14-7 on a five-yard touchdown run by Alex Smith, who set an NCAA record with 22 carries in the first quarter. But Derrick Mason returned the following kickoff 87 yards eight seconds later for the third Spartan touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

Smith had 147 yards before he left with four minutes to go in the half. He finished with 183 yards in 44 carries.

Wisconsin 34, Minnesota 27--The Badgers (4-4-1, 3-3) kept their bowl hopes alive by repeatedly burning the Big Ten’s worst defense in a victory over the Gophers (3-6, 1-5) at Minneapolis.

Darrell Bevell threw touchdown passes covering 62 and 70 yards to Tony Simmons, and Aaron Stecker returned a kickoff 100 yards for another score.

The Badgers also had a rough night defensively, allowing Cory Sauter three long touchdown passes, including a 39-yarder to Tony Levine that pulled Minnesota within a touchdown with 6:05 remaining.

But Wisconsin held when it absolutely had to, with Jason Maniecki sacking Sauter on fourth and four from the Badger 20 with 1:14 left.