Purdue's once respected defense is in ruins.
Montee Ball ran for a career-high 247 yards and scored three touchdowns to help Wisconsin beat Purdue 38-14 on Saturday.
James White added 124 yards rushing for the Badgers (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten), who outgained Purdue (3-3, 0-2) 645 yards to 252. The Badgers pounded out 467 yards rushing in the rain and posted their second-highest yardage total in school history.
"We had poor play across the line of scrimmage and poor tackling," Purdue coach Danny Hope said. "We had a plan to load up the box, and it was a good plan. Wisconsin has a strong rushing attack and we have a physical defense. We didn't play well defensively. They were able to control the line of scrimmage. We didn't tackle well and they were able to rush for a ton of yards."
The disastrous performance came after the Boilermakers surrendered 41 points to Marshall and 44 to Michigan the previous two weeks.
"We've got to get back to the basics," Purdue defensive end Ryan Russell said. "We missed a lot of tackles out there and a lot of missed gap assignments. We've got to go back to day one, come downhill, get our feet set and make tackles."
No. 8 Ohio St. 52, Indiana 49: Braxton Miller scored on a 67-yard touchdown run, threw TD passes of 60 and 46 yards and produced his third straight 100-yard rushing game, helping No. 8 Ohio State escape with a win at Indiana.
The victory makes the Buckeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) the first ranked team with seven wins.
Indiana (2-4, 0-3) has now lost 21 straight conference games to teams from outside the state and 18 straight to the Buckeyes since 1988, including the game Ohio State won two years ago but later vacated as part of an NCAA penalty.
Northwestern 21, Minnesota 13: Venric Mark rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns to carry Northwestern to victory over Minnesota.
Mark wasn't touched on scoring runs of 26 and 48 yards and the Wildcats (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) overcame 11 penalties to become bowl eligible and spoil Minnesota's homecoming celebration.
MarQueis Gray rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown after missing the previous two games with knee and ankle injuries. But he also threw an interception and was injured again late in the third quarter for the Golden Gophers (4-2, 0-2).
The Gophers had a chance for a tying touchdown late, but Northwestern's defense stiffened at the 6-yard line to keep them out of the end zone. Cornerback Nick VanHoose made the key play on the stand, batting a pass away from A.J. Barker in the end zone to save a touchdown.
No. 25 Michigan 45, Illinois 0: Denard Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores, leading Michigan past Illinois.
The Wolverines (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) got a scare when Robinson left the game with an undisclosed injury late in the first quarter. He missed just one-plus possessions, though, and returned to score on a 6-yard run to put Michigan up 17-0 late in the first half.
Robinson ran for a 49-yard score — giving him 10,000-plus career yards of offense — on the Wolverines' first drive of the second half and tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Devin Funchess on their next possession to make it 31-0.
Iowa 19, Michigan St. 16, 2 OT: Mark Weisman ran for 116 yards and a tying touchdown in the final minute of regulation, and Iowa went on to beat Michigan State in double overtime.
Mike Meyer kicked field goals in both overtimes, including a 42-yarder in the second that gave the Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) their first lead of the game. Iowa then won it when Andrew Maxwell's deflected pass was intercepted by Greg Castillo.
Le'Veon Bell ran for 140 yards and a touchdown for Michigan State, but the Spartans (4-3, 1-2) couldn't hold on late. Iowa drove 68 yards in nine plays and tied it at 13 on Weisman's 5-yard scoring run with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
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