BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Michigan Too Much for Indiana, 31-3

Michigan stuck to its game plan. It was Indiana’s that came unglued.

“The first two drives, they threw a defense at us we weren’t expecting,” said the Wolverines’ Tyrone Wheatley, held in check at the beginning but almost unstoppable after that in Saturday’s 31-3 victory over the Hoosiers at Bloomington, Ind.

“They were filling a lot of gaps, playing the outside. After we figured out what they were doing, we just went on from there,” he said.

Wheatley and Derrick Alexander turned Indiana mistakes into big-play touchdowns as the No. 3 Wolverines won their 16th consecutive Big Ten game.

“They came out with a very good game plan on defense, but we came here with a great offensive plan and just stuck with it,” said quarterback Elvis Grbac, who had two touchdown passes.

“We had to mix it up, no doubt about it. Our passing game was behind our running game a little bit, and we had to get that established right off the bat,” he said. “If they were going to stop the run, we had to pass well, and I think we did that pretty good.”

Wheatley, the Big Ten leader in rushing and all-purpose yardage, scored twice in the second quarter, on a 26-yard pass from Grbac and a 54-yard run on the first play after an Indiana fumble.

Alexander, who scored on an eight-yard pass from Grbac in the first quarter, added a touchdown on a 70-yard punt return in the closing seconds of the half.

“The defense played very well,” Michigan Coach Gary Moeller said. “We knew we couldn’t allow them to get a running game started and we had to put pressure on the quarterback, and I think we accomplished those two things.”

Grbac completed 13 of 17 passes for 132 yards, leaving him 43 yards short of the Michigan record of 5,449 by Jim Harbaugh. Wheatley rushed for 134 yards in 18 carries.

“Offensively, we just didn’t get anything going,” Indiana Coach Bill Mallory said. “Turnovers hurt us.”

The Wolverines, 5-0-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, led 31-3 at halftime after spotting Indiana (3-3, 1-2) a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on Scott Bonnell’s 38-yard field goal.

Indiana stopped the Wolverines on the next possession, but a false-start penalty and a sack of Trent Green forced the Hoosiers back to their four.

A short punt gave Michigan the ball at the Indiana 36, and it took five plays before Alexander’s touchdown catch put the Wolverines on top.

Green was sacked seven times. Michigan held Indiana to a net 30 yards rushing.

“This is as good a Michigan team as I’ve seen,” Mallory said. “They controlled us.”

Michigan scored on four of its five possessions in the second quarter, including the 54-yard run by Wheatley and a 33-yard field goal by Peter Elezovic following fumbles on consecutive Indiana possessions.

Ohio State 31, Northwestern 7--Raymont Harris scored on three short runs at Columbus, Ohio, and the Wildcats lost to the Buckeyes for the 17th time in a row.

Harris, who had 53 yards in 14 carries, scored on runs of one, one and three yards as Ohio State (4-2, 1-2) ended a two-game losing streak.

Northwestern (1-5, 1-2) hasn’t beaten the Buckeyes since 1971. This was the first time since 1951 that the Wildcats entered the game with a better Big Ten record than Ohio State.

Eddie George led the Buckeyes with 97 yards in nine carries, and his 60-yard run, the longest for Ohio State this season, set up Bob Hoying’s two-yard touchdown pass to Joe Metzger.

Hoying was playing in place of starter Kirk Herbstreit, who was injured on a second-quarter sack by Steve Ostrowski and Steve Shine. Herbstreit aggravated an ankle sprain and didn’t return.

Ohio State’s Tito Paul blocked two of Matt Dzierwa’s first three punts. The second, downed at the one, led to Harris’ touchdown on first down to make it 10-0.

Iowa 24, Illinois 14--Jim Hartlieb threw two touchdown passes and a once-porous Iowa defense played tough as the Hawkeyes won at Champaign, Ill.

Iowa, which had given up 432 yards a game, improved to 3-4 and 2-1. Illinois is 3-3 and 1-2.

Hartlieb had an exceptional first half, completing 16 of 18 passes, including eight consecutive attempts during one stretch.

However, he injured his shoulder in the third quarter when he was buried beneath a pile of players fighting for a fumble.

Illinois turned to Jason Verduzco after quarterback Jeff Kinney failed to move the offense. But turnovers in the third quarter killed any hope for a comeback.

Wisconsin 19, Purdue 16--Rich Thompson’s fourth field goal of the game, a 49-yarder with 38 seconds left, gave the Badgers a Big Ten victory at Madison, Wis.

The field goal capped a 13-point second half for the Badgers (4-2, 2-1), who won before a homecoming crowd of 73,573.

Quarterback Jay Macias led the Badgers’ rally, passing for 98 yards and a touchdown, after replacing injured Darrell Bevell late in the second quarter.

Purdue dropped to 2-4 and 1-2.

Wisconsin, trailing, 16-6, at halftime, started its comeback five minutes into the third quarter when linebacker Chris Hein blocked a Purdue punt and the Badgers took over on the Purdue 45. Six plays later, Thompson kicked a 21-yard field goal to make it 16-9.

The Badgers threatened to score with 8 1/2 minutes left in the game, driving from the Purdue 38 to the two, where Jason Burns fumbled and Kevin Strickland recovered for the Boilermakers.

Michigan State 20, Minnesota 15--Craig Thomas, filling in for the injured Tico Duckett, dived into the end zone with 18 seconds left at Minneapolis to stretch the Spartans’ winning streak over the Gophers to 14 games.

Aaron Piepkorn’s 36-yard field goal with 2:57 left gave the Gophers (1-5, 1-2) a 15-13 lead. But Michigan State (2-4, 2-1), led by second-string quarterback Bret Johnson, drove 70 yards in nine plays for the winning score. Thomas gained 17 yards on the drive, carrying the ball three straight times before scoring.