Michigan Stops Dayne’s Hopes Again, 21-16

Just like last year, Ron Dayne’s Heisman Trophy hopes are buried somewhere under a big pile of maize and blue.

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and No. 4 Michigan’s hard-nosed defense held Dayne to zero rushing yards in the second half in a 21-16 victory over No. 20 Wisconsin Saturday at Madison, Wis.

The Wolverines, 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, won their 18th consecutive Big Ten Conference opener with another tenacious performance against a running team. A week after holding Syracuse to 59 rushing yards, Dayne gained nothing in eight carries in the second half and twice failed to get critical first downs for Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1).

“When (Michigan’s defenders) get an opportunity to play against one of the most highly-touted running backs that ever played in the Big Ten, it brought out the best in them,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said.

Dayne had just 53 yards in 16 carries in Michigan’s 27-10 victory over Wisconsin last season, ending any Heisman hopes for his junior season. The Badgers’ star tailback did nothing Saturday to quiet doubters who say he disappears in big games.

“The coaches told me not to get frustrated, that we were going to get one- or two-yard runs, so I just tried to keep going,” Dayne said.

He finished with 88 yards in 22 carries, none in the last 10 minutes of the game as the Badgers tried to catch up. His only positive moment came on a 34-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Dayne needs 1,105 yards in Wisconsin’s seven remaining games to beat Ricky Williams’ Division I-A career rushing record.

“Our goal was to hold him to less than 80, but 88’s not bad,” Michigan linebacker Ian Gold said.

The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin’s last home loss also came to Michigan, which has won the last three meetings.

Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez, his right knee awaiting replacement surgery, coached the game from the press box.

“Right now I just have so many emotions pent up that you can’t release in the press box like you can on the field,” Alvarez said. “Normally, you walk off and you’re spent. Right now, I haven’t spent my emotions.”

The Wolverines weren’t much more impressive than the Badgers on offense, but Brady directed two scoring drives.

David Terrell had seven catches for 88 yards, and he also scored on a 45-yard double-reverse in the first quarter. Marquise Walker had five catches for 49 yards, while Brady was 17 for 27 for 217 yards and Drew Henson was five for eight.

*

No. 2 Penn State 45, Indiana 24--Richard Casey completed 13 of 15 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 66 yards and a spectacular, scrambling 31-yard touchdown for the Nittany Lions at State College, Pa.

The No. 2 man in Penn State’s quarterback platoon was on the field for all five of the team’s offensive scores as Penn State (5-0, 1-0) defeated Indiana (1-3, 0-1) for the fifth consecutive time.

Antwaan Randle El kept Indiana within striking distance with two touchdowns passes in the second half. He finished 11 for 23 for 204 yards, and ran for 67 yards and a touchdown.

*

No. 12 Ohio State 34, Cincinnati 20--Former Long Beach Poly standout Ken-Yon Rambo caught two long passes from Steve Bellisari--one for a 59-yard touchdown and another to set up a score--at Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes overcame yet another rocky start.

In the first meeting of the teams in 68 years, the Bearcats (2-2) played as if last week’s 17-12 upset of then-No. 9 Wisconsin--the school’s first victory over a ranked opponent--was no fluke.

Cincinnati built a 17-3 second-quarter lead before Ohio State (3-1) took command by scoring 31 consecutive points.

Rambo, who had 181 receiving yards in last week’s come-from-behind 40-16 victory over Ohio University, finished with three catches for 164 yards.

*

No. 13 Purdue 31, Northwestern 23--Drew Brees’ 99-yard touchdown pass to Vinny Sutherland, the longest in Boilermaker history--with six minutes to play sealed the victory at West Lafayette, Ind.

Sutherland got behind the defense on a third-down play, caught the ball around the Purdue 40 and outraced two defenders for the score with 6:20 remaining.

Brees completed 32 of 50 passes for a season-high 405 yards and three touchdowns as Purdue (4-0, 1-0) extended its winning streak to 10 games. It’s the first time Purdue has opened with four victories since 1967.

Northwestern (2-2, 0-1) was a four-touchdown underdog but kept Purdue’s defense off balance with the running of Damien Anderson, who had a career-high 150 yards in 38 carries.

*

No. 19 Michigan State 27, Illinois 10--Lloyd Clemons rushed for 141 yards, T.J. Duckett ran for 29 yards and two touchdowns and Ivory McCoy had a 22-yard scoring reception for the Spartans at Champaign, Ill.

Michigan State moved to 4-0 for the second time since 1966. It’s the Spartans’ fifth consecutive victory over the Illini, the longest Michigan State winning streak in the series.

Michigan State held Illinois (3-1, 0-1) to 42 yards rushing.