Ohio State and Combs Sock It to Wisconsin

Derek Combs gave the free-falling Wisconsin Badgers yet another footwear nightmare.

Combs ran for two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder without his right shoe, as No. 8-ranked Ohio State defeated the Badgers, 23-7, on Saturday at Madison, Wis.

“I had no clue how it happened,” linebacker Nick Greisen said. “He got out of there. I looked up and I had the shoe and he was gone.”

The No. 24 Badgers, whose season of national championship aspirations began to unravel last month when the NCAA suspended 26 players for receiving unadvertised shoe discounts, fell to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1996.

“We’ve got to try to salvage things and see if we can get ourselves in a bowl game some place,” Coach Barry Alvarez said.

The Buckeyes, 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, avenged last year’s 42-17 loss at Columbus, Ohio.

Combs, who played sparingly in the second half after he twisted his right ankle, got things going with an 80-yard dash for the end zone when he slipped two tackles at the line in the first quarter.

His right shoe was ripped away as he emerged from the pile and he darted the last 78 yards without it.

“I just stepped out and it was gone,” Combs said.

So was he.

And nobody even got a hand on him on his second scoring run, when he followed a block by fullback Jamar Martin for a 21-yard score that made it 13-0.

Wisconsin’s Michael Bennett, the nation’s leading rusher, carried 20 times for 106 yards, 102 yards shy of his average.

No. 22 Northwestern 52, Indiana 33--Damien Anderson became the first Northwestern back to gain 200 yards in consecutive games, rushing for 292 in 36 carries and scoring four touchdowns as the Wildcats used their no-huddle offense to defeat the Hoosiers at Evanston, Ill.

In surpassing 1,000 yards for a second consecutive season, Anderson had touchdown runs of one, 73, 15 and two yards as surprising Northwestern (5-1, 3-0) won its third consecutive Big Ten game.

It was Northwestern’s first 50-point output in 42 years.

Northwestern’s Zak Kustok threw touchdowns passes of 23 yards to Sam Simmons in the first quarter and a 50-yarder to Teddy Johnson in the third.

Iowa 21, Michigan State 16--Freshman Jon Beutjer’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Kasper with less than three minutes remaining at Iowa City rallied the Hawkeyes and ended a school record losing streak at 13 games.

The victory allowed Iowa (1-5, 1-1) to avenge a 49-3 rout by Michigan State a year ago that started their losing streak.

T.J. Duckett rushed for 248 yards in 30 carries for the Spartans (3-2, 0-2).

Minnesota 25, Penn State 16--Ron Johnson caught two touchdown passes and Dan Nystrom kicked four field goals at Minneapolis as the Golden Gophers scored a second consecutive victory over the Nittany Lions.

It also was the first victory for Minnesota (4-2, 2-1) over Penn State (2-5, 1-2) in the Metrodome.

Penn State has five losses for only the 12th time in 114 years of football.