The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 30

Page8C Sunday, November 9, 2008 State Edition I Des Moines Sunday Register College Football Report i Big 12 standings I Big 12: Nebraska 45, Kansas 35 Big Ten: Wisconsin 55, Indiana 20 Three-man rush carries Badgers ilVnUl suddenly reinvigorated postseason hopes. Needing at least two wins in the final three games to become bowl eligible, Wisconsin (5-5, 2-5) reverted to an old formula. The Badgers sent Hill and Clay repeatedly up the middle and relied on a staunch defense to shut out Indiana in the second half. It was the same combination former coach Barry Alvarez used to turn Wisconsin from a Big Ten afterthought into a perennial title contender during his tenure. With one difference: Instead of relying on one punishing back to wear down opponents, coach Bret Bielema tried a balanced approach against the Hoosiers' beleaguered and battered defense.

Hill carried 19 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns, while Clay had 19 attempts for 1 12 yards and one score. And Gilreath, who had 122 yards rushing in the Badgers' previous nine games, carried eight times for 168 yards and two scores including a 90-yard TD the second-longest run in school history. Wisconsin had three runners with 100 yards vs. Hoosiers. By MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press Bloomington, Ind.

Wisconsin turned a simple, three-step approach into a run for the record books Saturday. P.J. Hill, John Clay and receiver David Gilreath made it look even easier than expected. The Badgers trio combined for six touchdown runs and each topped 100 yards rushing before leaving in the fourth quarter, keeping Wisconsin's bowl hopes alive with a 55-20 rout at Indiana. "We've got the ability to drive guys up the field, make good blocks, but it's all about when the backs have the ball, reading the blocks and going," Hill said.

"You know he (Gilreath) outrushed me today and the rest of the guys, but it's good to see when the ball is in his hands, he can make a difference." The final tally, 441 yards rushing, tied the single-game Memorial Stadium record and gave a significant boost to the Badgers' u2 Nebraska Roy Helu vaults over Kansas Kyle Winkley in the second half of their Big 1 2 Conference game Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska defeated Kansas 45-35. Nebraska offense clicks vs. Kansas Cornhuskers become eligible for bowl game NORTH CONF ALL PF PA Missouri 3-2 7-2 410 212 Kansas 3-3 6-4 345 282 Nebraska 3-3 6-4 338 291 Colorado 2-4 5-5 194 281 Kansas State 1-4 4-5 329 303 Iowa State 0-6 2-8 254 340 SOUTH CONF ALL PF PA Texas Tech 5-0 9-0 423 202 Oklahoma 5-1 9-1 514 236 Texas 5-1 9-1 443 207 Okla. State 4-1 8-1 408 189 Texas 2-4 4-6 270 359 Baylor 1-5 3-7 267 296 Saturday's Results Texas 45, Baylor 21 Colorado 28, Iowa State 24 Nebraska 45, Kansas 35 Oklahoma 66, Texas 28 Kansas State at Missouri Oklahoma St.

at Texas Tech Nov. 15 Games 11:30 a.m. Texas at Kansas 3:00 Texas at Baylor 5:30 Missouri at Iowa State 7:00 Oklahoma State at Colorado TBA Nebraska at Kansas State Big Ten standings TEAM CONF ALL PF PA Michigan St. 6-1 9-2 296 214 Penn State 5-1 9-1 399 124 Ohio State 5-1 8-2 266 130 Northwestern 3-2 7-2 236 163 Minnesota 3-3 7-3 249 190 Iowa 3-3 6-4 286 142 Illinois 3-3 5-5 314 262 Michigan 2-4 3-7 222 284 Wisconsin 2-5 5-5 273 236 Purdue 1-4 3-6 210 248 Indiana 1-5 3-7 229 327 Saturday's Results Wisconsin 55, Indiana 20 Michigan 29, Minnesota 6 Ohio State 45, Northwestern 10 Michigan State 21, Purdue 7 Western Michigan 23, Illinois 17 Iowa 24, Penn State 23 Nov. 15 Games 11 a.m.

Purdue at Iowa 11 a.m. N'western at Michigan 11 a.m. Indiana at Penn State 11 a.m. Ohio State at Illinois 2:30 Minnesota at Wisconsin Commentary: Colleges not set up for fairness BarackObamaand Bob Stoops are in. Both pronounced their desire for a college football playoff this week.

But Stoops' comments were more revealing. The Oklahoma coach and former Bowl Championship Series system advocate said of a playoff, "I've come full circle. I'm for it." Stoops sees the advantage by some teams and conferences over others, an argument that gains traction this time of year. "With the differences in non-conference scheduling, some people have some difficult games and some don't," Stoops said. "And some conferences don't have a championship game and others do." But that's also the reason a playoff bracket wouldn't work, not as college football is structured.

Let's take the Obama plan. He mentioned an eight-team bracket, and that seems to be a popular starting point for playoff advocates. So, is that the six major conference champions plus two more or just the top eight ranked teams? Use the bowl sites or home fields? Ask fans to travel on three straight weekends? Demand that players put their financial futures and ACLs on the line for three more weeks? I've seen good answers to some but not all of the questions, but my issue involves the fairness that Stoops questions in the BCS. The same unfairness would exist in an eight-team playoff bracket, as in the current 10-team BCS series. Conference champions are selected differently.

Three leagues have a playoff game, three don't. Some play eight conference games, others nine. Six conferences automatically send their champions to a BCS game, the five others send one. Notre Dame is its own third-party candidate, complete with television network. The bottom line is the NFL playoff works because of its structure.

College football doesn't come close to that kind of organization, and that would have to change before creating a fair bracket. Blair Kerkhoff, The Kansas City Star By ERIC OLSON Associated Press Lincoln, Neb. Joe Ganz passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns, Roy Helu Jr. ran for 115 yards and two scores, and Nebraska bounced back from a humiliating defeat at Oklahoma to beat Kansas 45-35 on Saturday. The Huskers (6-4, 3-3 Big 12), coming off a 62-28 loss to the Sooners, became bowl-eligible with their 20th straight win over the Jayhawks in Lincoln.

Kansas (6-4, 3-3), which throttled the Huskers 76-39 in Lawrence last year, hasn't won on the road against Nebraska since 1968. Ndamukong Suh, the Huskers' 300-pound nose tackle, added to a career-best 12-tackle game by lining up at fullback and catching a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ganz for a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Kansas's Todd Reesing threw three touchdown passes and became Kan RICH JANZARUK llASSOCIATED PRESS Wisconsin's John Clay (32) eludes Indiana's Joe Klein-smith during the first quarter. Clay had 19 attempts for 1 1 2 yards and one touchdown against the Hoosiers. i DAVE SWEAVERASSOCIATED PRESS as a blocking back, lumbered into the end zone wide open to catch a short TD pass.

It was the second career touchdown for Suh, who ran back an interception 49 yards against San Jose State. Zach Potter intercepted Reesing on Kansas' next possession, and after place-kicker Alex Henry ran 9 yards for a first down on a fake field goal, Ganz hit Nate Swift for a 14-yard touchdown. Reesing's 14-yard run pulled his team within 10 points with 2:15 left, and the Jayhawks' Darrell Stuckey recovered the onside kick. But Kansas turned the ball over on downs, and the Huskers ran out the clock. The teams matched touchdowns in the first half.

Lucky took a direct snap, ran three steps and flipped a jump pass over the line to tight end Mike McNeill for a 4-yard touchdown. Ganz later hit Chris Brooks with a 25-yard pass for Brooks' first career touchdown. Oklahoma 66, Texas 28 College Station, Texas Sam Bradford threw touchdown passes to four receivers, Chris Brown ran for three scores and No. 6 Oklahoma routed Texas DeMarco Murray, Matt Clapp, Ryan Broyles and Juaquin Iglesias had scoring catches and Bradford had a touchdown run for the Sooners, who set a single-game scoring record for an opponent at Kyle Field. The Sooners have scored 231 points in four games since a 45-35 loss to Texas.

Their defense was equally impressive, holding the Aggies to 26 rushing yards and forcing four turnovers. Cyrus Gray scored on a 98-yard kickoff return for the Aggies. Other Big Ten Games Ohio State powers to win over Wildcats sas' career passing leader, but he was sacked five times. He finished 15-of-30 for 304 yards. Ganz, who completed 28-of-37 passes, went over 300 yards passing for the fourth time in five games and eighth time in 12 career starts.

Helu, who had a career-high 157 yards rushing against Oklahoma, split carries with Marlon Lucky and Quentin Castille in the first half. But the Huskers called on Helu after they fell behind 21-17. Helu dived for the pylon to finish a 10-yard run and put Nebraska ahead to stay late in the third quarter. After Kansas went three plays and out, he took an inside handoff and ran off right tackle for a 52-yard touchdown and a 3 1-2 Head. After the Jayhawks got back to 31-28 on Jake Sharp's 7-yard run, Helu went back to work.

He hurdled cornerback Anthony Davis on his way to a 23-yard gain before Suh, occasionally used the AP poll and the Bowl Championship Series standings, to fourth last week. The Longhorns also dropped out of first place in the Big 12 South. While Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all face each other this month, Texas has already played them all beating the Sooners and Cowboys. Texas began its closing stretch by beating Baylor for the 11th consecutive time, a relief after four straight games against top-11 teams. McCoy likely refueled his Heisman Trophy bid by completing 26 of 37 passes for his fourth 300-yard game this season, and eighth of his career, without playing the final 12 minutes.

The touchdowns went to four different receivers. Other Big 12 Games Texas, McCoy trample Baylor 1 Michigan 29, Minnesota 6 Minneapolis, Minn. Under the big pillowy top of the Metrodome at least, Michigan is still Michigan. The much-maligned Wolverines defense swarmed like the Michigan of old and the ground game racked up 232 yards in a victory that keeps the Little Brown Jug where it has resided for most of its existence. K.C.

Lopata kicked five field goals and Greg Mathews had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown for Michigan, which snapped a five-game losing streak that knocked it out of bowl season for the first time in 35 years. W. Michigan 23, Illinois 17 Detroit, Mich. Tim Hiller threw two touchdowns and John Potter kicked three field goals to help Western Michigan. The loss prevented Illinois from clinching bowl eligibility.

Hiller's touchdown passes came after Illinois quarterback Juice Williams was intercepted on consecutive possessions in the second quarter. From Register News Services Evanston, 111. No apologies needed after this one. Terrelle Pryor threw for three scores and Chris "Beanie" Wells ran for two more, leading No. 12 Ohio State to a 45-10 victory over Northwestern on Saturday that showed the Buckeyes are definitely over their loss to Penn State two weeks ago.

Pryor was 9-of-14 for 197 yards, and added 33 on the ground. Wells finished with 140 yards on 28 carries. "I felt real comfortable today," Pryor said. "I have a lot more I want to accomplish and get better at. Keep progressing.

Keep progressing." Michigan St. 21, Purdue 7 East Lansing, Mich. Javon Ringer scored two touchdowns and No. 18 Michigan State used a dominating defense to stay alive in the Big Ten title chase. Purdue was eliminated from bowl contention in coach Joe Tiller's final season.

Ringer had 121 yards on 32 carries. From Register News Services Austin, Texas Colt McCoy and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns got over the red-and-black blues. McCoy passed for 300 yards and five touchdowns, Ryan Palmer returned an interception 22 yards for a tiebreak-ing score and the Long-horns beat Baylor 45-21 Saturday. Texas got a much-needed rebound victory a week after its last-second loss at Texas Tech.

Texas scored on its first two drives before Baylor tied it by scoring twice in 4 minutes. The Longhorns went ahead to stay when Palmer picked off a deflected pass, pulling it off his shoulder pads, then finding the end zone. The loss to the Red Raiders knocked Texas out of the No. 1 spots in.