Michigan Shatters Ohio St.

Around the country

Ohio State’s worst nightmare returned again on Saturday, ruining the Buckeyes’ bid for a national championship and a Rose Bowl berth.

Tshimanga Biakabutuka rushed for a career-high 313 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown dive, and No. 18 Michigan defeated the second-ranked Buckeyes 31-23 on Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich.

It was the most yards rushing gained against Ohio State by one player in 106 years of football.

“Obviously, I’m incredibly disappointed,” Ohio State coach John Cooper said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been so disappointed in my life.”

The upset gives No. 4 Northwestern the Big Ten championship and sends the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Ohio State fell to 11-1, 7-1 Big Ten while Michigan went to 9-3, 5-3.

Penn St. 24, Michigan St. 20: Bobby Engram took a short slant pass from quarterback Wally Richardson at the Michigan State 5-yard line, ducked under one defender, then lunged through another for a touchdown with 8 seconds remaining to give the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions a win.

The game, played before 66,189 at Spartan Stadium, was often sluggish and inept, but the victory left Penn State (8-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) with a good chance to be chosen to play in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on New Year’s Day.

The loss dropped Michigan State (6-4-1, 4-3-1) out of the New Year’s Day bowl picture.

Iowa 45, Minnesota 3: Matt Sherman threw two touchdown passes and Damani Shakoor came off the bench to run for 90 yards and two TDs as the Hawkeyes downed the Golden Gophers at Iowa City, Iowa.

Iowa’s whipping of the Golden Gophers (3-8, 1-7) for the third straight year came one day after Minnesota signed coach Jim Wacker to a new two-year contract. The victory put Iowa (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) in the running for a berth in the Sun, Liberty or Independence bowls.

Wisconsin 3, Illinois 3: Brett Scheuplein’s 54-yard field-goal attempt fell short with 39 seconds left and the Illini settled for a tie with the Badgers at Madison, Wisc. The tie left Illinois (5-5-1, 3-4-1 Big Ten) one victory short of qualifying for a bowl invitation. Wisconsin finished 4-5-2 just two seasons after winning the Rose Bowl.

South

(5) Tennessee 12, Vanderbilt 7: Jay Graham rushed for 211 yards and scored on a 1-yard run with 3 minutes left to rally the Volunteers (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) past the determined Commodores (2-9, 1-7) at Knoxville, Tenn., in a battle of in-state rivals.

Mississippi 13, Mississippi St. 10:

Dou Innocent set a school record with 242 yards rushing and scored a touchdown as Ole Miss capped a winning season with a victory over the Rebels (3-8, 1-7) at Starkville, Miss.

Ole Miss (6-5, 3-5 SEC), completed its first year of NCAA probation by beating its in-state rival for the first time since 1992.

(15) Texas A&M 38, TCU 6: Leeland McElroy scored twice and Corey Pullig put on a rare passing show as the Aggies beat the Horned Frogs (6-5, 3-4) at Fort Worth, Tex.

A&M (8-2, 5-1 SWC) positioned itself for a showdown against No. 9 Texas on Saturday at College Station, with the winner earning a bowl alliance spot to either the Orange or Sugar bowls.

Texas Tech 38, Houston 26: Zebbie Lethridge and Byron Hanspard were the primary ghostbusters for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders beat the Cougars at the Astrodome. Lethridge ran for two touchdowns and passed for two and Hanspard scored twice for the Red Raiders (8-3, 5-2 SWC). The Cougars finished 1-9, 1-5.

West

BYU 45, Fresno St. 28: BYU’s (7-4, 6-2 WAC) Steve Sarkisian’s 31-for-34, three-touchdown effort set an NCAA record for completion percentage, and the Cougars earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference title with a victory over the Bulldogs at Fresno, Calif. Fresno State finished its season at 5-7, 2-6.

Colorado St. 24, San Diego St. 13: Colorado State (8-3, 6-2) used numerous big plays to win a share of its second straight WAC title and a Holiday Bowl berth with a victory over San Diego State. The Rams shared the WAC title with Utah and Brigham Young at 6-2, but gained the Holiday Bowl berth by virtue of victories over both schools. San Diego State is 8-4, 5-3.

Wyoming 42, Texas-El Paso 19: Josh Wallwork threw for four TD passes and ran for one more as the Cowboys (6-5, 4-4 WAC) defeated the Miners (2-10, 1-7) at El Paso in the season finale for both teams.