Ohio State Drops Third in a Row

It keeps getting worse for Ohio State.

The No. 25 Buckeyes continued their inept play on offense and got carved up on defense by Drew Tate, who passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as Iowa handed Ohio State its third loss in a row, 33-7, on Saturday at Iowa City.

“If don’t know if they dominated, but they kicked our butts,” Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel said.

Ohio State ran 29 times for 27 yards in falling to 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1988. The Buckeyes (3-3) had 177 total yards, 73 coming on a late touchdown drive that prevented them from being shut out for the first time since 1993.

When Iowa defensive end Matt Roth looked at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter and saw 33-0, he shook his head in amazement.

“If you would have said that four or five weeks ago, I think I would have looked at you like you were crazy,” Roth said. “I think we just got it clicking.”

That went for the offense too.

The Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1) were down to their fifth- and sixth-string running backs but punctured Ohio State’s defense for 448 yards. Tate completed 26 of 39 passes for 331 yards and no interceptions, with touchdown passes of 11 and 36 yards to Clinton Solomon and eight yards to Scott Chandler.

Tate became only the third Iowa quarterback to top 300 yards in consecutive games. He threw for 340 against Michigan State.

Ohio State, meanwhile, ran only six plays in Iowa territory in the first three quarters and one of those ended with an interception. The Buckeyes also lost two fumbles and the Hawkeyes scored after both in sending Ohio State to its worst loss since a 46-20 setback to Illinois in 1999.

It was only the fourth Iowa victory over Ohio State in 42 years and the widest margin of victory for the Hawkeyes, who have won 16 in a row at home.

“When you don’t run the football, it affects everything,” Tressel said. “A good football team can usually hang in there if you can run the football and right now, we can’t.”

No. 14 Michigan 30, Illinois 19 -- Michael Hart carried 40 times for 234 yards as the Wolverines rallied in the second half to defeat the Fighting Illini at Champaign, Ill.

Michigan outscored Illinois, 20-2, in the second half. Hart also caught three passes from Chad Henne for 23 yards.

Hart ran for 127 yards and Max Martin added 60 rushing yards in the second half as the Wolverines kept the ball on the ground after two interceptions of freshman Chad Henne led to a 17-10 halftime deficit. Michigan threw only nine passes and rushed 39 times after halftime.

The Wolverines (6-1, 4-0) finished with 294 yards rushing and won their fifth in a row. The Illini (2-5, 0-4) haven’t won a conference game since the 2002 season.

Michigan State 51, No. 19 Minnesota 17 -- Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton passed for 308 yards and ran for 102 more at East Lansing, Mich., as the Spartans stunned the Golden Gophers.

Michigan State gained 407 yards in the first half, a school record, while taking a 31-10 lead. The Spartans (4-3, 3-1) finished with 636 yards.

The offensive production came despite cold, rainy conditions with temperatures in the low 40s at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans are 9-3 against ranked teams at home since 1998.

The Spartans rolled up 324 rushing yards. Jehuu Caulcrick had 94 yards and two touchdowns in 13 carries for Michigan State.

Minnesota Coach Glen Mason said it was the worst loss he has suffered in his seven-plus years with the Gophers.

“The big question is why?” Mason said. “I’m really not sure. I don’t have the answers and really didn’t see it coming.”

Minnesota (5-2, 2-2) couldn’t get its vaunted running attack untracked, finishing with 102 yards. Laurence Maroney had 54 yards in 13 carries and Marion Barber III had 36 yards in eight carries.