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Notre Dame runs over Navy with 56-14 victory

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)—Notre Dame needed less than two minutes to make a week’s worth of problems—heck, maybe a season’s worth—disappear.

Michael Floyd and Jonas Gray scored in a span of 1 minute, 59 seconds Saturday, and Notre Dame rolled from there, rebounding from its rough week with a 56-14 thrashing of Navy. The Irish (5-3) rushed for seven touchdowns, most in 19 years, while limiting Navy (2-6) to a season-low 229 yards of total offense in the Midshipmen’s sixth straight loss.

“As a family, we all have good days and bad days. And you work through that as a family,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “We communicated with each other as a team and as a family, and you saw it today. You saw a team that played together. I told our team, that’s the best collection of plays relative to all 11 players playing together.”

Continue reading Notre Dame runs over Navy with 56-14 victory - Nancy Armour (AP) | Rivals.com

Toussaint leads No. 17 Michigan over Purdue 36-14

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Michigan had a throwback game, giving the ball to running back Fitzgerald Toussaint 20 times and shutting down Purdue on defense.

Toussaint ran for a career-high 170 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 17th-ranked Wolverines in a 36-14 win over the Boilermakers on Saturday.

Michigan gave up a TD on the opening drive of the game, then scored 36 straight points thanks to a dominant defensive line and a relentless running game.

Continue reading Toussaint leads No. 17 Michigan over Purdue 36-14 - Larry Lage | Rivals.com

Northwestern runs past Hoosiers, 59-38

BY JIMMY CAVANAUGH

There are disheartening losses and then there’s what the Northwestern Wildcats (3-5, 1-4) did to the Indiana Hoosiers (1-8, 0-5) on a brisk Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Indiana was hosting Northwestern on homecoming weekend and began the game well, taking the ball first, driving quickly down the field and getting on the board first with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Tre Roberson. It would only go downhill from there as the Wildcats rolled to a 59-38 victory that was not as close as it appeared. An IU defense that started 7 freshmen – the most of any FBS team this season – was a primary culprit.

Dan Persa was outstandingly efficient for Northwestern, missing on only four of 20 passes all day and throwing for 261 yards and three scores. He had plenty of help as Kain Colter, Jacob Schmidt and Drake Dunsmore all had very productive offensive games. Colter operated as both a quarterback and a receiver – throwing for 38 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for 38 more yards and catching 6 passes for 115 yards. Schmidt played his best game of the season as he ran for 110 yards and two scores on only 15 carries after gaining more than 50 yards only once all year. Finally, Dunsmore was a matchup nightmare as he caught 7 passes for 112 yards and a mind-boggling four touchdowns.

Indiana-Northwestern Preview

BY JIMMY CAVANAUGH

Homecoming weekend is finally here in Bloomington, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for Indiana as the Hoosiers look to break a five-game losing skid and notch their first conference win of the year. Their opposition is in a similar situation however, and is unlikely to back down without a fight.

The Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats (2-5, 0-4)-

Northwestern is a curious case. More than anything else, they mirror the Indiana teams of the last couple of seasons in that they can score in bunches, but can’t stop their opponents from doing the same. Their offense struggled early in the season, but since the return of senior quarterback Dan Persa, the Wildcats have averaged nearly 29 points per game in B1G play. In addition to Persa, Northwestern will likely design a few plays at quarterback for the explosive Kain Colter, a lightning-quick freshman who brings another dimension to the Wildcat offense.

Colter’s impact is seen upon investigating Northwestern’s rushing statistics, as he’s carried the ball 30 more times than anyone else on the team and leads the Wildcats in rushing by more than 200 yards. Besides Colter, Northwestern uses a running back- by-committee approach. Adonis Smith, Treyvon Green, Jacob Schmidt and Mike Trumpy all average at least five carries per game and all have scored at least one touchdown.

The Big Queasy: Saints pummel Colts, 62-7

NEW ORLEANS -- Ouch. This one was embarrassing.

It started with center Jeff Saturday's shotgun snap bouncing off quarterback Curtis Painter's face mask. It got worse.

The Indianapolis Colts fell behind 31-0, lost 62-7 and tumbled to 0-7, a depth plumbed only three other times in their 59 years of NFL membership. It was the worst loss in Indy history and most points allowed in franchise history.

Continue reading The Big Queasy: Saints pummel Colts, 62-7 - Phil Richards | Indystar.com

Iowa rolls past Hoosiers, 45-24

BY JIMMY CAVANAUGH

For an Indiana football team that had struggled mightily to find a spark, Kevin Wilson figured that he had nothing to lose by looking to true freshman quarterback Tre Roberson to try and get his offense moving in the right direction.

He had the right idea, but Roberson’s contributions on the offensive side of the ball weren’t enough to overcome the Hoosiers’ other weaknesses in a loss to an explosive Iowa team.

The Indiana Hoosiers (1-7, 0-3) fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2, 2-1) by a 45-24 final score, as the IU offense had its most productive game of the season but was unable to recover from its own sloppiness and an anemic performance from the Hoosier defense.

“I don’t understand all of the penalties,” Kevin Wilson said afterward. “We’ve had some games where we were really sloppy, some games where we didn’t have as many. Today we had a boatload of penalties and we need to work on that.”

He continued on the defense.

Notre Dame takes big step back in 31-17 loss

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)—Notre Dame looked more rusty than rested, especially in the first half, against Usc.

Sloppy play and poor tackling put the Irish in a quick 17-0 hole. And then when they picked up their play in the second half and had a chance to tie the game, that same, old devastating problem surfaced again—turnovers.

A disappointed coach Brian Kelly promised a tough week of practice ahead, after a 31-17 loss following a bye week.

“Losing stinks. For me, it’s hard for me to put a stink meter on losing. They all stink,” Kelly said after the Irish dropped to 4-3 and their goal of a BSC bowl bid evaporated.

Continue reading Notre Dame takes big step back in 31-17 loss - Rick Gano (AP) | Rivals.com

Purdue upsets No. 23 Illinois 21-14

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP)—Danny Hope has been vindicated—for now.

Few believed the Purdue coach when he preached that his team had potential, even after an embarrassing home loss to Notre Dame several weeks ago that had many fans questioning if he should remain the team’s coach.

The Boilermakers (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) finally got the quality win they needed with a 21-14 victory over No. 23 Illinois on Saturday—Purdue’s first win over a ranked team since beating then-No. 7 Ohio State in 2009.

Now, Purdue—not Illinois—is near the top of the Leaders Division and talking about making a run at the Big Ten title.

Continue reading Purdue upsets No. 23 Illinois 21-14 - Cliff Brunt (AP) | Rivals.com

Homestead drills Hunitngton North, 68-17

Special win for Spartans

FORT WAYNE – Homestead got an offensive spark on special teams and rolled past visiting Huntington North 68-17 Friday in a Class 5A sectional opener.

Coming off their first undefeated regular season in nine years, the Spartans got their highest-scoring output of the season, jump-started by two kickoff returns for their first two touchdowns in the first quarter in ending the Vikings’ three-game winning streak.

Homestead (10-0), which averages 50.1 points, scored 62 against DeKalb on Sept. 23. Friday’s 68 points were the most Homestead has scored since getting 69 in a win against Carroll in 1997.

The Spartans, who beat the Vikings (5-5) 57-43 in the season opener, will play host to Kokomo (8-2) next Friday in a second-round sectional game.

Continue reading Special win for Spartans - Greg Jones | JG.net

 

IU-Iowa Game Preview

BY JIMMY CAVANAUGH

After their worst setback of the season, the road doesn’t appear to get much easier for Kevin Wilson’s Indiana Hoosiers (1-6, 0-3). If past matchups in this series are any indication though, there are no guarantees in this week’s contest against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Opponent- Iowa Hawkeyes (4-2, 1-1)

On paper, Iowa appears to be a challenging matchup for Indiana. Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeye squad is an average to slightly above average B1G team, and enjoys a home field advantage. They’ve suffered close losses to Iowa State and Penn State, but with the exception of the mere three points they managed against the Nittany Lions, Iowa has averaged more than 38 points per game on the year.

Their explosive offense starts with junior quarterback James Vandenberg. This year has been his first chance at extensive playing time after backing up Ricky Stanzi for two years, and he’s capitalized, throwing for nearly 1500 yards and a 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He doesn’t represent the same type of duel-threat that Nathan Scheelhaase and Russell Wilson did the previous two weeks, but has been an effective red zone runner in his own right, accounting for three touchdowns on the ground.

Kiel is 're-evaluating' his decision to commit to IU

Gunner Kiel, the top rated quarterback in the 2012 recruiting class from Columbus East, is re-evaluating his commitment to Indiana, his dad confirmed today.

Kiel, who chose IU over schools such as Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan when he committed to the Hoosiers July 27, reportedly told Indiana coach Kevin Wilson Thursday that he is reconsidering.

 "He's re-evaluating his commitment,’’ said Kip Kiel, Gunner’s father. “It's a difficult situation and tough decision."

Continue reading Kiel is 're-evaluating' his decision to commit to IU - Terry Hutchens and Kyle Neddenriep | Indystar.com

 

Komets release Drouin, place two on IR

The Komets also announced Thursday that they have released veteran skater P.C. Drouin.  Drouin, 37, completed his 15th pro year last season skating 61 games with the Komets scoring 14 goals and 44 points during his sixth season as  Komet.  The St. Lambert , Quebec native led the Komets in 2007-08 with 51 assists and led in 2008-09 with 66 assists and 98 points in 75 Fort Wayne games.  Drouin collected his third straight Fort Wayne championship leading the Komets in the 2010 playoffs with 13 assists and 18 points in 12 games.

Defenseman Brandon Warner and David Starenky have been placed on injured reserve and will not be in the lineup Saturday night when the Komets open their 60th anniversary season against Evansville .  Warner has been placed on 10-day I.R. and Starenky is on 14-day I.R.

The Komet roster of 21 players includes 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.

NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson calls on IndyCar to quit ovals

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – Five-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson called on IndyCar to stop racing on ovals in the wake of Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon's death.

Wheldon was killed in a 15-car accident in Sunday's season finale IndyCar race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a high banked, 1.5-mile oval.

"I wouldn't run them on ovals. There's just no need to," Johnson said Monday during a test session at Charlotte Moter Speedway. "Those cars are fantastic for street circuits, for road courses. I hate, hate, hate that this tragedy took place. But hopefully they can learn from it and make those cars safer on ovals somehow.

Continue reading NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson calls on IndyCar to quit ovals - USAToday.com

Colts' late fumble seals victory for Bengals

The Colts fumbled their way to an 0-6 record Sunday, losing at Cincinnati, 27-17.

The Colts trailed 20-17 when they took over at their own 33-yard line with 2:36 remaining after a missed field goal by the Bengals. On the first play, quarterback Curtis Painter completed a pass to Pierre Garcon, who fumbled. Cincinnati's Carlos Dunlap recovered and ran 35 yards for a touchdown.

It appeared the game would follow a familiar pattern when the Bengals took a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, overpowering what looked like a tiring Colts defense.

Continue reading Colts' late fumble seals victory for Bengals - Indystar.com

 

Penn State holds off Purdue 23-18

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP)—Silas Redd ran for 131 yards and a touchdown and Penn State took advantage of Purdue's special teams miscues to hold on Saturday for a 23-18 win.

Akeem Shavers had a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:08 left but Purdue was stopped on a 2-point conversion attempt to keep the deficit at 20-18. A missed field goal and extra-point attempt earlier in the game also haunted Purdue (3-3, 1-1 Big Ten) on a windy afternoon.

Chaz Powell returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to the 3, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed Penn State (6-1, 3-0) back, and the Nittany Lions settled for field goal with 6:24 left and a five-point lead.

Continue reading Penn State holds off Purdue 23-18 - Genaro C. Armas (AP) | Rivals.com