Illinois’ win opens door to Capitol

Minnesota went winless in the Big Ten for the first time since 1983 and lost Paul Bunyan’s Axe, again.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A week after leading his team to an upset of Ohio State, Illinois quarterback Juice Williams led the Illini a step closer to a New Year’s Day bowl with a 41-22 win Saturday over Northwestern.

Williams ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 220 yards and another score.

The 20th-ranked Illini (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten) are considered a strong candidate for the Capitol One Bowl, where coach Ron Zook could face his former team Florida.

Northwestern (6-6, 3-5) started the day with a good possibility of landing in a bowl. But with 10 Big Ten teams eligible, the Wildcats needed a seventh win to improve their case.

The Wildcats, though, couldn’t stop the Illini offense, which piled up 541 yards, scored on each of its first two possessions and capitalized on mistakes that plagued Northwestern in the first half.

No. 24 Wisconsin 41,

Minnesota 34.

MINNEAPOLIS — David Gilreath made an electrifying return to his home state, racking up 226 return yards to help Wisconsin.

Zach Brown rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns in place of the injured P.J. Hill for the Badgers (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who overcame injuries all season long to win at least nine games for the fourth year in a row, the first time that’s happened in the program’s history.

Adam Weber threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns for Minnesota (1-11, 0-8), who went winless in the Big Ten for the first time since 1983 and lost Paul Bunyan’s Axe to their border rivals for the fourth straight year.

Gilreath, from the Minneapolis suburb of Robbinsdale, initially committed to the Gophers last year but backed out when coach Glen Mason was fired.

New coach Tim Brewster was hired to replace Mason in January, but by then it was too late to convince the speedster change his mind.

It was easy to see why the Gophers wanted him. Gilreath was a force in both kick and punt returns, and perhaps played a big role in one of the key plays of the game without even touching the ball.

Indiana 27, Purdue 24

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana refused to let another bowl chance slip away, and certainly not against its archrival Purdue for the second straight year.

Kellen Lewis ran for two touchdowns, and Indiana held off a frantic rally when Austin Starr made a 49-yard field goal with 30 seconds left to give the Hoosiers a 27-24 victory.

The win sends Indiana (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) to its first bowl game in 14 years, fulfilling the promise late coach Terry Hoeppner made to fans when he was hired three years ago.

Indiana delivered this one almost the way Hoeppner drew it up, too. Playing in front of the first home sellout of the season, Marcus Thigpen ran for a career-high 140 yards, Lewis kept Purdue off balance with a nifty mix of run and pass and Starr made a career-long field goal for the winner.

Western Michigan 28, Iowa 19

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tim Hiller threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns and Western Michigan stunned Iowa , putting the Hawkeyes’ bowl hopes in jeopardy.

Chris Kelly kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:13 left and Brandon West added 116 yards rushing and 93 receiving for the Broncos (4-7), who raced out to a 19-0 lead and hung on to snap a three-game losing streak.