BIG TEN Smoker leads MSU past Illinois, 49-14

The Spartans won their sixth game and stayed perfect in the Big Ten at 3-0.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jeff Smoker was 23-of-31 for 317 yards and two touchdowns and No. 21 Michigan State converted three Illinois turnovers into TDs in a 49-14 victory Saturday.
Tyrell Dortch, a junior who missed all of last season while recovering from a broken leg, scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards, the first two TDs of his college career.
The Spartans (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) scored twice after intercepting Jon Beutjer's passes deep in Illini territory. The first, by Eric Smith in the second quarter led to Dortch's first TD, a 1-yard run on fourth down that gave Michigan State a 14-7 lead.
Jason Harmon intercepted Beutjer's pass late in the third quarter and ran it back to the Illini 12. After a holding penalty, Smoker connected with Aaron Alexander from 21 yards out to give the Spartans a 35-7 lead with 14:26 to go. Harmon scored on a 52-yard fumble return with 6:29 to play.
Smoker also threw a 15-yard TD pass to Jerramy Scott as the Spartans won their fourth straight game. Jaren Hayes scored Michigan State's first touchdown on a 1-yard run and led the Spartans in rushing with 56 yards on 12 carries.
Illinois (1-6, 0-3) lost its fifth straight. Beutjer was replaced by freshman Chris Pazan early in the fourth quarter after completing 19 of 27 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern 37, Indiana 31, OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Jason Wright ran for 141 yards and four touchdowns, including the winner in overtime, as Northwestern beat Indiana.
The Hoosiers (1-6, 0-3 Big Ten) got the ball first in overtime and were in position to take the lead when they drove to the 13. But Matt LoVecchio's pass to Travis Haney was tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Brian Heinz. The Wildcats (3-4, 1-2) then won it with Wright's 4-yard scoring run.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 25 carries for 136 yards and three touchdowns for Indiana, which was looking to win its first Big Ten game since the 2002 conference opener against Wisconsin. Indiana had 531 yards of total offense, including 327 yards rushing.
The Hoosiers had a chance to win in regulation, getting the ball at their own 46 with 1:30 to play. But coach Gerry DiNardo elected to keep the ball on the ground, and Bryan Robertson's 54-yard field-goal try with time running out was well short.
Northwestern nearly squandered a big lead for the second week in a row. Last week, the Wildcats took a 14-0 halftime lead against Minnesota, but ended up losing 42-17.