College football

Big Ten; Wildcats capture nail-biter

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern has lived on the edge all season. So it was no surprise when another Wildcats game came down to the end.

This time, Ross Lane caught a 9-yard touchdown from Brett Basanez with 42 seconds left to give Northwestern another wild victory, a 28-27 comeback win over Iowa on Saturday.

"We made plays at the right time and came through," Basanez said. "It just speaks to the character of the offense. The older guys were keeping everybody else (relaxed), saying, "Calm down.' ... It speaks to the young guys. They played like veterans."

It has been a season of close games for Northwestern, which overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit.

The Wildcats won 38-37 in Week 2 when Northern Illinois failed on a 2-point conversion after scoring with six seconds left. They survived a late charge by Wisconsin on Oct. 8 and won 51-48, then beat Purdue 34-29 the next week. Northwestern lost 34-29 to Penn State on Sept. 24 on a last-minute touchdown.

Northwestern remained in contention for the conference title and became bowl eligible. Iowa needs to beat Wisconsin or Minnesota to become eligible.

Freshman Tyrell Sutton scored on a 1-yard run to bring the Wildcats within six with 2:10 left, and Reggie McPherson recovered an onside kick at the Iowa 47 after it bounced over several Hawkeyes.

"I had a clear shot at it, and I just jumped up and got it," he said. "It was a great opportunity."

On second and 2 at the 24, Basanez ran for 6 and Iowa's Chad Greenway committed a personal foul after a helmet-to-helmet hit, putting the ball on the 9. Basanez hit an open Lane on a slant.

Basanez questioned Iowa's sportsmanship.

"They were trying to get us out of our game by grabbing facemasks, hitting guys late, hitting you in the head," he said. "I mean, if that's how they teach football down there ... "

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Troy Smith threw three touchdowns and Antonio Pittman ran for two scores to lead the Buckeyes to their fourth win in a row. Ohio State kept pace with first-place Penn State in the conference, with league games left against Northwestern and at Michigan. The Illini lost their seventh in a row.

MINNESOTA 42, INDIANA 21: Gary Russell ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns, and Laurence Maroney moved into second place on the Golden Gophers' career rushing list. Minnesota ended a 20-year, seven-game drought in Bloomington.

PURDUE 28, MICHIGAN ST. 21: Jerod Void ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns to help the host Boilermakers snap a six-game losing streak. Curtis Painter, making his third straight start in place of Brandon Kirsch, passed for a career-high 226 yards and one TD.

[Last modified November 6, 2005, 02:02:18]