Calhoun’s Five Lift Wisconsin

Brian Calhoun doesn’t mind the work. He’d stay on the field every play if Coach Barry Alvarez asked.

“It just depends on how much they need me to carry the ball,” the Wisconsin running back said after rushing for 197 yards in 35 carries to lead the 15th-ranked Badgers to a 41-24 win over host Illinois on Saturday. “If they need me to carry 50 times, 45, 40, I’m there to do that.”

Calhoun scored five touchdowns, including a 46-yard dash for Wisconsin’s final score. He also scored five touchdowns earlier this season against Bowling Green, tying the school record shared by Billy Marek (1974) and Anthony Davis (2002).

The win kept Wisconsin (8-1, 5-1) at the top of the Big Ten standings.

Illinois (2-6, 0-5) lost its sixth straight game despite gaining a season-high 538 yards. Quarterback Tim Brasic completed 20 of 39 passes for a career-high 277 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards, a career high and a school record, just a week after being pulled from the game against Penn State.

No. 11 Penn State 33, Purdue 15 -- Tony Hunt ran for 129 yards and Kevin Kelly kicked four field goals to lead the Nittany Lions (8-1, 4-1) over the Boilermakers (2-6, 0-5) at State College, Pa.

Rodney Kinlaw set up BranDon Snow’s touchdown with a dazzling 58-yard kickoff return and Hunt had some key fourth-quarter rushes for Penn State. Hunt bullied over numerous Purdue defenders as the Nittany Lions went to the running game to thwart a late comeback by the Boilermakers.

Penn State inched closer to its first Big Ten title since 1994, though it must beat Wisconsin next week at home in a showdown of conference leaders.

Quarterback Michael Robinson finished with 19 carries for 96 yards and also completed 13 of 29 passes for 213 yards for Penn State.

No. 12 Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31 -- Antonio Pittman rushed for two second-half touchdowns and a career-high 186 yards, leading the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1) over the Gophers (5-3, 2-3) at Minneapolis in a game featuring more than 1,000 yards of offense.

Troy Smith passed for 233 yards and three scores, two to Santonio Holmes, and Ted Ginn Jr.’s 100-yard touchdown on a kickoff return highlighted a wild first quarter for Ohio State.

Laurence Maroney, the Big Ten’s leading rusher, ran for 114 yards and a score in 16 first-half carries against the stingiest rushing defense in the country.

The Buckeyes, led by linebacker A.J. Hawk, were giving up only 62.7 yards a game on the ground. They buckled down after halftime, holding Maroney to 13 yards in nine carries.

Michigan State 46, Indiana 15 -- Drew Stanton passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead the Spartans (5-3, 2-3) over the Hoosiers (4-4, 1-4) at East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State running back Javon Ringer gained 109 yards in 11 carries, including a 45-yard touchdown run.