Win Puts Penn State in Position to Play in a Major Bowl Game

Receiver Joe Jurevicius teamed with quarterback Mike McQueary for four receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns--one a 42-yard Hail Mary pass with one second remaining in the first half--as No. 6 Penn State beat No. 24 Wisconsin, 35-10, Saturday at State College, Pa.

Despite the victory, Penn State, 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten, lost its chance at a piece of the Big Ten title when No. 1 Michigan beat No. 4 Ohio State.

The Nittany Lions are in line for a major bowl game, however.

McQueary, who was struggling lately, put together an almost perfect first half, missing only one receiver and tallying 219 yards--a school record.

McQueary finished 16 for 19 for 269 yards and three touchdowns.

“He made a couple of great throws under pressure,” Coach Joe Paterno said. “We knew we had to throw the ball and Mike was awfully good. He was on the button all game.”

Curtis Enis ran for 138 yards and two scores, including a career-long 78-yard romp down the Wisconsin sideline. He had his seventh consecutive 100-yard game, tying the school record set in 1989 by Blair Thomas.

Ron Dayne, who played on a gimpy right ankle, ran for 126 yards in 30 carries for Wisconsin (8-4, 5-3). The Badgers were the last Big Ten team without a loss in Beaver Stadium.

The Penn State defense recorded 6 1/2 sacks.

“We just wanted to come out and set the tone early and make a statement,” said Courtney Brown, who had 10 tackles--six for a loss--and three of the sacks.

Wisconsin receiver Donald Hayes was carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a hospital after taking a hard hit. Because of numbness in his hand, doctors were at first concerned about a possible cervical spine fracture. But Hayes was treated and released.

No. 23 Purdue 56, Indiana 7--Ed Watson rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns as the Boilermakers won at Bloomington, Ind., to finish the regular season with a winning record for the first time in 13 years.

The only unfinished business now for the Boilermakers (8-3, 6-2) is a bowl bid, which also would be their first since 1984, when Jim Everett was the quarterback.

“It means a lot to me, my last year, that we can go out winners,” Watson said. “We’ve had a long, hard four years. It’s been wonderful for us. The fact we can also go to a bowl game is great.”

The Hoosiers (2-9, 1-7) got 342 yards passing from Jay Rodgers, a record for the 100-game series against the Boilermakers. But Purdue scored 35 points off Indiana turnovers.

“This was a great experience for our players,” first-year Purdue Coach Joe Tiller said. “It doesn’t matter [which bowl Purdue goes to]. We’re appreciative of whoever wants us.”

Indiana trailed only 21-7 at halftime and threatened at the Purdue three-yard line early in the third quarter before losing the ball on downs. The Hoosiers never threatened again.

“We let them hang around long enough and we started playing ball in the second half,” Watson said. “We didn’t want them to get confidence and stay with us.”

The 56 points by Purdue and the 49-point winning margin were the most in the series since the Boilermakers won, 64-0, in 1893.

Purdue’s Lamar Conard intercepted a pass late in the third quarter, and Watson ran 48 yards for a touchdown on the first play after that to break open the game.

“Obviously, this year is disappointing, especially when you feel like you can play these guys and hang with them, which a majority of the time we did,” Rodgers said. “But a few things fell their way and we weren’t able to capitalize on the things we did.”

Iowa 31, Minnesota 0--Randy Reiners threw two touchdown passes and Tim Dwight scored on a punt return while setting three Big Ten return records as the Hawkeyes (7-4, 4-4) beat the Golden Gophers (3-9, 1-7) at Iowa City.

Minnesota had five turnovers and managed only 170 yards on offense.

The Hawkeyes needed the victory to receive bowl game consideration because only five of their wins were against Division I-A opponents.

Dwight, a senior from Iowa City playing his last game at Kinnick Stadium, zigzagged his way for a 44-yard punt return touchdown with 49 seconds left in the third quarter that gave Iowa a 24-0 lead.

The touchdown return was Dwight’s third of the season--a conference record--and fifth of his career, also a record.

Dwight, who leads the nation in punt returns with a 19-yard average, also had a punt return for four yards that gave him 1,086 yards in his career, eclipsing the career mark of 1,075 yards by Northwestern’s Brian Musso.

Dwight also caught four passes for 29 yards to become Iowa’s all-time leading receiver. His 2,220 receiving yards eclipsed Danan Hughes’ mark of 2,216 yards set from 1989-92.

Michigan State 27, Illinois 17--Sedrick Irvin rushed for 159 yards and caught a touchdown pass as the Spartans (6-4, 3-4) beat the Illini (0-11, 0-8) at Champaign, Ill. It was the Illini’s 17th consecutive loss and gave them their first winless season in 28 years.

Todd Schultz threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans, who broke a four-game losing streak and gained consideration for a bowl game with their sixth victory.

It was the last game of the season for Illinois, but Michigan State plays next Saturday at home against Penn State.