Saturday’s other Big Ten games

October 10, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

No. 17 Michigan St. 34, No. 18 Michigan 17.

EAST LANSING, Mich.

With coach Mark Dantonio back in the stadium, No. 17 Michigan State took advantage of three interceptions by Denard Robinson and scored 24 unanswered points to break open a close game. The Spartans (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) trailed midway through the second quarter before their scoring binge, which allowed them to beat their rivals for the third straight time. It’s their longest winning streak over the Wolverines since 1965-67. As expected, Michigan (5-1, 1-1) struggled to stop Michigan State, but both teams had to be stunned by Robinson’s inability to make many plays with his arm or his feet. Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins threw for a touchdown and handed off to Edwin Baker, Le’Veon Bell and Larry Caper for three scores, giving Dantonio a reason to smile. He was back coaching from the press box nearly three weeks after a mild heart attack.

No. 20 Wisconsin 41, Minnesota 23

MADISON, Wis.

John Clay ran for three touchdowns and freshman James White added two more to lead Wisconsin over Minnesota to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the seventh straight year. Clay ran for 111 yards and White finished with 118 in the most lopsided victory for Wisconsin (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) in the most played rivalry in Division I football, which dates to 1890. Clay has scored seven touchdowns in his three matchups with the Gophers and White has been hot recently with eight TDs in his last three games. Minnesota (1-5, 0-2) wore white helmets and uniforms on an unseasonably hot day, but that didn’t help the Gophers break their skid against Wisconsin or overcome an early 14-0 deficit.

Purdue 20, Northwestern 17

EVANSTON, ILL.

Dan Dierking scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard run and redshirt quarterback Rob Henry rushed for 132 yards in his first career start as Purdue rallied. Purdue (3-2, 1-0) opened Big Ten play with a victory despite Henry’s struggles in the passing game. He was 6-of-18 for 47 yards.

Associated Press