Michigan Makes Penn State Pay in Overtime

Two of college football’s most tradition-rich programs turned a dull start into a fantastic finish.

Chris Perry’s three-yard touchdown run in overtime gave No. 13 Michigan a 27-24 victory over No. 15 Penn State at Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday.

After the teams trudged through the first 42-plus minutes tied at 7-7, they combined for 28 points and three lead changes. John Navarre’s second touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards -- his third option in a crowded end zone -- with 3:24 left forced the first overtime ever at Michigan Stadium.

“That’s what a great football game is,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. “It’s back and forth, and you win it, and then you lose it, then you win it.”

Michigan (5-1 overall, 2-0 in conference) won its sixth consecutive game over Penn State (4-2, 1-2). The Nittany Lions haven’t lost that many in a row to any team in more than 70 years.

“They’ve all been great wins, but none have been more exciting,” Carr said. “This one had everything.”

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in Division I-A, was so upset after the game that he wouldn’t allow his players to be interviewed.

“Our kids played hard and their kids played hard,” Paterno said. “They had one more play than we had. It was as simple as that.”

Nittany Lion kicker Robbie Gould -- who missed an extra point and a field goal in regulation -- missed a 23-yard field goal in overtime. But Michigan was called for offsides, and Gould took advantage of the opportunity with a 20-yard kick to put Penn State ahead 24-21.

“Don’t blame it on the kicker,” Paterno said.

On Michigan’s possession, Perry gained four yards on a third and one from Penn State’s 16. Four plays later, he plunged in for the score.

In the first quarter, Michigan cornerback Zia Combs was taken off the field on a stretcher after he collided head-first into a teammate’s midsection. Combs has full movement and X-rays were negative.

No. 5 Ohio State 50, San Jose State 7 -- Freshman Maurice Clarett scored three touchdowns and Craig Krenzel threw three touchdown passes as the Buckeyes (7-0) used a balanced attack to beat the Spartans (4-3) at Columbus, Ohio.

Clarett, who had 132 yards in 18 carries, scored on runs of one and five yards and had a seven-yard touchdown reception. Krenzel was 11 for 14 for 241 yards and also had touchdown pass plays of 40 yards to Mike Jenkins and 37 yards to Chris Vance.

Ohio State scored 31 unanswered points to take a 41-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

The game was played before a crowd of 104,892, the largest ever at Ohio Stadium.

Indiana 32, No. 23 Wisconsin 29 -- Gibran Hamdan threw three of his four touchdown passes in the last 16 minutes to rally the Hoosiers (3-3, 1-1) from a 19-point deficit for an upset of the Badgers (5-2, 0-2) at Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since Oct. 21, 2000, a 51-43 victory over No. 22 Minnesota. The Hoosiers also ended Wisconsin’s three-game winning streak in Bloomington.

Hamdan threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Glenn Johnson with 2:16 left to complete the comeback.

Illinois 38, Purdue 31 -- Dustin Ward threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis in overtime to give the Illini (2-5, 1-2) a victory over the Boilermakers (3-4, 1-2) at Champaign, Ill., after Illinois blew a 24-point lead.

After going up 24-0 in the first half, the Illini didn’t score again until Antoineo Harris scored from a yard out on fourth and goal with seven seconds left to play, tying the score at 31-31. After Lewis scored for Illinois in overtime, Brandon Kirsch’s pass into the end zone on fourth down was well short of his receiver.