Michigan State batters Badgers

The Spartans knocked Wisconsin out of the national championship race.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State used a powerful rushing attack, a trick play and a key defensive stand to rout No. 4 Wisconsin 49-14 on Saturday and knock the Badgers out of the national championship race.
The Spartans (5-5, 4-3) handed the Badgers their first loss and knocked Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1) into a second-place tie with Iowa in the Big Ten behind Michigan.
The win keeps bowl hopes alive for Michigan State.
The Badgers entered the game ranked fifth in the Bowl Championship Series standings, primarily because of a dominating defense that had allowed 9.1 points a game -- lowest in the nation.
But Michigan State rolled up 551 yards of total offense, including 430 on the ground.
Jehuu Caulcrick had 146 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Spartans. Jason Teague had 112 yards and a TD on 17 carries. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass on a trick play in the first half, with the ball thrown by wide receiver Aaron Alexander.
Anthony Davis led Wisconsin with 128 yards on 21 carries, including a touchdown.
Michigan State grabbed a 28-14 lead on the first drive of the second half, sparked by the recovery of a surprise onside kick. It set up a 54-yard drive capped by Caulcrick's 1-yard touchdown run.
Michigan 42, Northwestern 20
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michael Hart ran for 151 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and No. 9 Michigan scored TDs the first five times it touched the ball in the second half.
The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0) led the Wildcats by only one point at halftime before turning the game into a rout with scores on the ground, through the air and on a punt return. They have won 15 straight games at home and 13 conference games in a row.
If Michigan wins next week at Ohio State, the defending Big Ten champions will earn at least a share of the conference championship.
Northwestern (5-5, 4-3) has to beat Illinois and win at Hawaii for a second straight bowl bid and fifth in 10 years.
Michigan's Chad Henne was 19-of-26 for 187 yards with two TDs. Hart has run for 975 yards in his last five games and 1,311 this season.
Steve Breaston scored twice in 35 seconds, catching a 10-yard TD pass and returning a punt 67 yards for another TD, to give Michigan a 42-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.
No. 19 Iowa 29, Minnesota 27
MINNEAPOLIS -- Rhys Lloyd's 51-yard field goal try drifted left with 28 seconds remaining, allowing 19th-ranked Iowa to hold on for its sixth straight win.
Drew Tate completed 24 of 39 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa (8-2, 6-1). Charles Solomon had nine receptions for 157 yards and a score.
It wasn't pretty for the Hawkeyes, whose last four victories have come by a total of 16 points.
They lost their fifth running back this year when Sam Brownlee left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, and the rushing defense -- which entered with a conference-best average of 68.2 yards allowed per game -- was trampled by the record-setting duo of Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.