MSU defense dominates OSU; Michigan wipes out Gophers

Kirk Cousins threw a 33-yard scoring pass to B.J. Cunningham as Michigan State’s No. 1-ranked defense overwhelmed the Ohio State Buckeyes, 10-7, shutting them out until the final seconds.

The Spartans (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) came in as the national leader in total defense (172 yards per game) and passing defense (101 ypg) — and backed up that lofty ranking. MSU allowed just 178 total yards and 143 yards through the air while posting nine sacks and snuffing the Buckeyes’ ground attack, permitting just 35 yards on 39 attempts.




Denarrd Robinson threw for two scores as part of an efficient passing game and ran for a touchdown on a season-low six carries Saturday to lead the #19 Michigan Wolverines to a 58-0 beatdown over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The rest of the Wolverines (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) were, too, against the overmatched Golden Gophers (1-4, 0-1) in the Big Ten's Legends Division opener for both teams. The Wolverines kept the Little Brown Jug trophy that the teams have played for since 1909. Michigan had its most lopsided win since beating Indiana by the same score in 2000.




Alex Carder threw for a career-high 479 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Western Michigan Broncos to a 38-31 win over the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday. Three players had over 100-yards yards receiving for the Broncos (3-2).




Senior Paris Cotton racked up 225 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns, helping the Central Michigan Chippewas earn a key Mid-American Conference win over the Northern Illinois Huskies, 48-41. Cotton ran for 110 yards on 16 carries and caught four balls for 115 yards, scoring on plays of 43, 36 and 46 yards.




The Eastern Michigan Eagles opened the MAC portion of their football schedule with a 31-23 victory over the Akron Zips at home. EMU, now 3-2 overall and 1-0 in MAC action, entered the game with the top-ranked rushing offense in the MAC and the Eagles lived up to that lofty rating, gaining 228 yards on 56 rushes, including four touchdowns on the ground.

Junior running back Dominique White turned in a career-best 164 yards rushing on 28 carries and tallied three touchdown runs, the first time an EMU player rushed for three scores in a game since Dwayne Priest pulled off the feat in the 2010 season finale at Buffalo, Nov. 20, a game won by the Eagles, 21-17.