The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 25

The Des Moines Register ST Sunday. October 29. 2006 Page BC COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT BIG TUN WISCONSIN BADGERS 30 ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI 24 NORTHKRN IOWA CONF. ALL PF PA AT CEDAR FALLS: Western Illinois 24. Northern Iowa 13 Unusually weak offense dooms UNI in the dome MICHIGAN 6 0 9 0 255 104 OHIO STATE 5 0 9 0 323 66 WISCONSIN 5 1 8 1 291 116 PENN STATE 4 2 6 3 203 151 INDIANA 3 2 5 4 229 269 IOWA 2 3 6 3 234 164 PURDUE 2 3 5 4 235 243 ILLINOIS 1 3 2 6 154 205 MICHIGAN ST.

1 4 4 5 256 276 MINNESOTA 0 5 3 6 207 226 N'WESTERN 0 5 2 7 140 237 SATURDAY'S GAMES Indiana 46, Michigan Slate 21 Wisconsin 30, Illinois 24 Penn State 12, Purdue 0 Michigan 17, Northwestern 3 Iowa 24, Northern Illinois 14 Ohio State 44. Minnesota 0 SATURDAY, NOV. 4 11 a.m. Indiana at Minnesota 11 a.m. Penn State at Wisconsin 11 a.m.

Ball State at Michigan 11:10 a.m. Northwestern at Iowa 2:30 Ohio State at Illinois 2:30 Purdue at Michigan State SATURDAY'S BEST PASSING C-A Yds TO Lewis, Indiana Christensen, Iowa Stocco, Wisconsin Bacher, NW Smith, OSU RUSHING 15-26 19-30 261 256 217 15-26 20-41 14-21 204 183 Att. Yds TD halftime. It was the third timfr this season that Northern Iowa" trailed at halftime at home, LaFalce used five different receivers in working toward, his 141 aerial yards and two' touchdown passes in the first half. All five receivers had at least one catch in the first 6 minutes of the game.

Northern Iowa stopped the Leathernecks' first drive with an interception by free safety Chris Parsons, which set the Panthers up for their first drive at the Western 10-yard line. The Panthers had to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Wingert. That early inability to cap a short drive with a touchdown seemed to slow Northern Io wa's offense. The Panthers got their initial first down with 9: 57 left in the half on a 10-yard pass from Sanders to Curt Bradley. That and consecutive 14-yard runs by Sanders helped the Panthers tie the game 10-10 with 7:14 left.

Western Illinois went 80 yards on the ensuing drive, helped by a 15-yard personal foul for a helmet-to-helmet hit that changed an incomplete pass into a first down at the Panther 38. Six plays later, Alex Douglas turned a screen pass from LaFalce into a 12-yard touchdown pass with 2 minutes left before halftime. Haymakers unable to find consistency as Panthers fall to Western Illinois. By DAN McCOOL HECilSTER STAFF WRITER Cedar Falls, la. Northern Iowa's football team blew an opportunity to be the lone undefeated Gateway Conference team Saturday night because it could not develop consistency on offense.

The No. 7 Panthers the fourth straight ranked opponent Western Illinois faced did not bring their key play-making home from last week's win at Youngstown State and were saddled with a 24-13 loss before an announced crowd of 11,058 at the UNI-Dome. Northern Iowa is 3-1 in conference games. Illinois State, the other undefeated team at the start of Saturday's games, was beaten 27-13 by Youngstown State Saturday. Steve LaFalce threw for 226 yards and two touchdown passes for the Leathernecks, who outgained Northern Iowa 353-272 in total yards to get their first conference win.

The Leathernecks had 15 plays that gained at least 10 yards. Northern Iowa (5-3 overall) averaged just over four yards on its 64 scrimmage plays. Western Illinois led 17-13 at (V ANDY MANIS. ASSOCIATED PRESS Illinois' Vontae Davis tackles Wisconin's Andy Crooks after a reception during the first half Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium tn Madison, Wis. HuntPSU 31 142 2 Young, Iowa 25 124 1 Pittman.OSU 21 116 2 Thigpen, Indiana 20 104 0 Hart, Michigan 20 95 1 RECEIVING No.

Yds TD Badgers spare embarrassment DRAKE FOOTBALL AT DAYTON, OHIO: Drake 21, Dayton 9 Phaydavong powers Bulldogs to victory was more dangerous than its record would indicate and those concerns proved true when the Illini and freshman quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams took a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. "They had the energy and excitement, and coach (Ron) Zook's got them playing hard," Bielema said. "But they haven't gotten over that hump, and I didn't want to have their momentum start today." John Stocco helped Illinois out by throwing an interception and losing a fumble in the first half, leading to two touchdowns. "We pretty much handed everything to them," Stocco said. "So when we got to halftime, we didn't panic.

We knew what we had to do." The Badgers' second-half rally came largely without Hill, who sat out most of the second half after sustaining what Bielema described as a nerve injury in his neck in the first quarter. The redshirt freshman and Big Ten's leading rusher gained 1,199 yards on 202 car Wisconsin rallies from two-TD halftime deficit to edge past Illinois at home. By CHRIS JENKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS Madison, Wis. Turnovers were turning into touchdowns, a freshman quarterback was running wild and star running back EJ. Hill was sitting out with a sore neck.

Illinois had put No. 17 Wisconsin right where Badgers coach Bret Bielema worried they might down by two touchdowns at halftime and stunned that they could be losing to the Big Ten's welcome mat at home. But Wisconsin (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) shut off Illinois' juice in the second half, and found some offensive energy of their own to score 20 straight points for a 30-24 win at Camp Ran dall Stadium on Saturday. "It's not how they started, it how they finished, and I can't give enough credit to what they did, Bielema said. All week, Bielema warned his players that Illinois (2-7, 1-4) FROM REGISTER NEWS SERVICES Dayton, Ohio Scott Phay davong ran for two touchdowns to lead Drake to a 21-9 win over Dayton on Saturday.

Phaydavong had 171 yards on 31 carries, scoring on runs of 12 yards in the second quarter and 51 yards in the third for Drake (7-2, 4-1 Pioneer League). Willie Cashmore scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter and finished with 56 yards on 12 carries. Dayton (3-5, 0-5) led 7-0 af ter the first quarter. Brandon Godsey scored on a 3-yard run after John Hoppe recovered a Drake fumble. Dayton's Kevin Hoyng completed 12 of 24 passes for 146 yards.

He threw one interception and was sacked three times. Carlton McFadgen had five catches for 71 yards. Drake quarterback Cole Ingle was 5-of-13 for 44 yards and was sacked twice. It marked the first time in school history that Drake has won consecutive road games at Dayton after beating the Flyers, 13-6, during its last visit in 2004. Phaydavong had his seventh 100-yard plus rushing game of the season.

"I'm excited for our guys and The play set up a held goal ries in the Badgers' first eight games but was held to 50 yards on 12 carries Saturday. Wisconsin trailed by four points early in fourth quarter when tight end Andy Crooks fell on his fumble in the end zone for a touchdown that put the Badgers ahead 27-24 with 14:50 remaining. Crooks originally was ruled down at the 1-yard line, but was awarded a touchdown on a replay review. The Badgers defense, meanwhile, made Williams look more like a true freshman in the second half. "We knew we weren't going the whole season beating everyone by 40 points," senior safety Joe Stellmacher said.

"We got their best effort and we didn't play particularly well, especially in that first half." Williams took over as the mini's starter in a loss to Iowa Sept. 23, and he helped upset Michigan State in his second start. He gained 173 combined yards in Zook's spread offense in the first half, but the Illini gained only 80 total yards in the second. GAMES INDIANA 46, MICHIGAN ST. 21 Bloomington, Ind.

Kellen Lewis threw five touchdown passes, including a school-record four to James Hardy, and ran for another score in leading the Hoosiers. "We just got in a flow. He's got a lot more confidence in me, I've got a lot more confidence in him," Lewis said of his top receiver, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who has eight touchdown catches for the season. PENN STATE 12, PURDUE 0 West Lafayette, Ind. Tony Hunt ran for 142 yards on 31 carries including a touchdown as the Nittany Lions registered their first shutout in four years.

chance to cut into Michigan's lead when Wildcats defensive tackle John Gill recovered Brandon Minor's fumble at the Michigan 24 just seconds into the fourth quarter. But Bacher was picked off by Willis Bar-ringer in the end zone. The Wildcats didn't threaten again and lost their sixth straight. Gilmore, Indiana Hardy, Indiana Thomas, MSU Beckum, Wis. Hartline, OSU 86 0 83 4 82 1 76 0 69 0 HE SAID IT "It was more of a swirl down there.

There were times on some screen passes when I felt like I was throwing a balloon." Chad Henne, Michigan quarterback, on playing in a steady rain in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines won 17-3. QUICK SNAPS Nicklaus dots for alma mater Columbus, Ohio Jack Nicklaus has won 18 major golf championships during a glittering half-century in the spotlight. He got one of his biggest thrills Saturday by impersonating a sousaphone player and helping to spell his home state. "They spelled it right and I got my footwork right," Nicklaus said on the sideline after dotting the in the Ohio State marching band's signature maneuver, Script Ohio, at halftime of the game between Minnesota and Ohio State.

Nicklaus, a former Ohio State golfer originally from suburban Upper Arlington, was dressed in a scarlet Ohio State jacket with gray lining, and wore a black baseball cap with a red "0" on it exactly like the one worn by longtime family friend and former Buckeyes coach, the late Woody Hayes. "I had to have my Woody hat," Nicklaus said. "I was a big fan of Woody's. I was here when Woody dotted the Nicklaus became only the fifth non-band member it's usually a sousaphone player to be accorded the honor. The others are former Ohio State president Novice Fawcett, comedian Bob Hope, longtime university ticket director Bob Ries and Hayes.

Hayes dotted the a few years before he died in 1988 and called it one of the highlights of his public life. Dozens of Nicklaus family members and friends were nearby, cheering and clapping, as Nicklaus piayeu mis roie in me iiaiiume wiuw. NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS 3 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES 17 Michigan holds off Northwestern the program to get healthy again," said Drake football coach Rob Ash, whose team was coming off a 37-0 home loss to San Diego. "I'm proud of the team for the way they came back from last week. I wondered about our mental state going into the game.

We were slow getting out of the gates. I challenged the offense to step up. "This was a good Dayton team that we beat. Our defense was superior and our running was tough which was the difference." Drake Dayt First downs 14 16 Rushes-yards 48-146 38-64 Passing 44 146 Comp-Att-lnl 5-13-0 12-24-1 Return Yards 20 1 Punts-Avg. 6-40 7 7-39 4 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 5-2 Penalties-Yards 5-28 0-0 Time ot Possession 32:10 27:50 Drake 0 14 7 0 21 Dayton 7 0 0 2 9 First Quarter Dayt Godsey 3 run iSwartz kickl.

5:34. Second Quarter Drk Cashmore 5 run iRees kickl, 12:01. Drk Phaydavong 12 run IRees kickl. 6.22. Third Quarter Drk Phaydavong 51 run (Pees kick), 4:50.

Fourth Quarter Dayt Salety. 8:23. A 3,863. INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rustling Drake, Phaydavong 31-171. Cashmore 12-56.

Ingle 2-(minus 10. Team 3-lminus 71) Dayton. Wimberly 10-34. Marshall 3-27. Godsey 9-25.

Shappie 3-8. Wade 1 -(minus 10). Hoyng 12-lminus 20). Passing Drake, Ingle 5-13-0-44. Dayton, Hoyng 12-24-1-146.

Receiving Drake, Putnam 2-21, Moroni 2-15, Marx 1-8. Dayton, McFadgen 5-71, Rune 2-43, Champa 2-21, Jonard 2-11, Wimberly 1-0. was their first of the season after eight losses. Francis and his teammates gave first-year coach Al Golden his first victory with the Owls, and the triumph ended a 20-game losing streak (longest in the nation) dating to the 2004 season. "Aw, man, coach was crying.

Other people were crying. It was something else," Temple senior linebacker Ryan Gore said about the Owls' postgame locker room. "Everybody was ecstatic. That's the way a locker room is supposed to be. I'm tired of coming in here with heads hanging down." DesMoinesRegister.com ACROSS THE NATION SKID ENDS: The perfect spiral from Temple quarterback Adam DiMichele was in the air, and Bowling Green defensive back Jerett Sanderson was beaten.

When the ball landed in the hands of Temple sophomore wide receiver Bruce Francis downfield, a Homecoming Day crowd of 17,431 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia erupted. Francis, who was day-to-day last week due a troublesome hamstring, finished off the third-quarter play for a 45-yard touchdown, and the Owls were on their way to a 28-14 victory that FROM REGISTER NEWS SERVICES Ann Arbor, Mich. For Michigan, it was another day to rely on the tough running of Mike Hart and its swarm ing defense for a rain-soaked victory. For Northwestern, it was progress. The second-ranked wol verines win Saturday was tougher than expected, but kept them on track for a potential No.

1 vs. No. 2 matchup at Ohio State on Nov. 18. Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) faces Ball State next week, then Indiana.

The Wildcats (2-7, 0-5), who were 30-point underdogs for the homecoming game at the Big House, hung tough a week after collapsing in a record-setting way by blowing a 35-point lead against Michigan Mate. Northwestern trailed only 10-3 midway through the third quarter when the game turned on a miscue by Wildcats quarterback C.J. Bacher, who was making his second career start. OTHER OHIO STATE 44, MINNESOTA 0 Columbus, Ohio Quarterback Troy Smith added to his Heisman Trophy credentials by running tor one score and throwing for another to lead No. 1 Ohio State past the Gophers.

Antonio Pittman rushed for 114 yards and two scores for the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who have won every game this season by at least 17 points. They play lower division squads Illinois and Northwestern, both 2-7, the next two weeks while tuning up for the regular-season finale against No. 2 Michigan on Nov. 18 at Ohio Stadium. Hall, who had a fumble recovery earlier, intercepted Bacher's pass and set up the Wolverines at the Northwestern 36.

Hart gained 23 yards off left tackle on fourth-and-2 and, two plays later, he ran untouched into the end zone from the 3 to make it 17-3 with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Northwestern again had a Delivered Full of Life to your home! Michigan cornerback Leon.