No. 9 Purdue Avoids Upset at Penn State

Taylor Stubblefield had seven catches and became the Big Ten Conference’s career receptions leader as No. 9 Purdue held on to defeat Penn State, 20-13, Saturday at State College, Pa.

Stubblefield’s 40-yard sprint down the left sideline on the first possession of the second half put the Boilermakers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) ahead, 17-10. After that, it was all Purdue could do to hold the lead.

Penn State (2-4, 0-3) had a second-and-one on the Purdue seven but had to settle for Robbie Gould’s 27-yard field goal that made it 17-13.

Purdue’s next possession ended when Calvin Lowry intercepted Kyle Orton’s pass, Orton’s first interception and Purdue’s first turnover of the season.

Orton completed 24 of 35 passes for 275 yards, with two interceptions and one touchdown. He was sacked three times, as many times as he’d been sacked all season.

Penn State’s Zack Mills completed 29 of 49 passes for 293 yards.

Stubblefield finished with 63 receiving yards and has 271 career catches. He broke the record of 266 set last year by former Boilermaker John Sandeford.

Northwestern 31, Indiana 24 -- Noah Herron ran for a career-high 197 yards and three touchdowns, including a 16-yard scoring run in the second overtime that gave the Wildcats the victory at Evanston, Ill.

It’s the second consecutive season the Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) and Wildcats (3-3, 2-1) have gone to overtime, with Northwestern winning both games.

Michigan State 38, Illinois 25 -- Drew Stanton threw three touchdown passes and caught another at East Lansing, Mich., to lead the Spartans (3-3, 2-1) to their eighth consecutive victory over the Fighting Illini.

Illinois (2-4, 0-3), which has lost 11 consecutive conference games, hasn’t defeated Michigan State since 1992 and hasn’t won at Spartan Stadium since 1989.