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Michigan continues climb, routs BYU

 
Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock finishes off a 17-yard touchdown in the second quarter, one of his two scoring runs on the day. He also passes for a touchdown.
Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock finishes off a 17-yard touchdown in the second quarter, one of his two scoring runs on the day. He also passes for a touchdown.
Published Sept. 27, 2015

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan might not be back just yet.

The Wolverines, though, are getting much closer to where they want to be under coach Jim Harbaugh.

Jake Rudock ran for two touchdowns and threw for another during a first half in which Michigan did all of its scoring in a 31-0 rout of No. 22 BYU on Saturday.

The Wolverines have won three straight after their season-opening loss at Utah. They were 1-9 in their previous 10 games against ranked opponents — the lone win was against Notre Dame two-plus years ago — and had won just three of 22 against teams in the Associated Press poll since midway through the 2009 season.

"It feels good to finally beat a ranked team," running back De'Veon Smith said. "We have to keep the momentum going and keep making statements."

Harbaugh was happy with the win but doesn't want his team to get too excited.

"We're not getting out in front of our headlights and patting ourselves on the back," he said.

Smith ran for 125 yards on 16 carries, including a tackle-breaking, 60-yard TD, before leaving the game late in the third after appearing to hurt his right ankle. After being evaluated in the locker room, Smith was wearing a walking boot as a precaution. X-rays were negative. "I expect to play next week," he said.

BYU was shut out for the first time in 143 games, dating to a 3-0 loss to Utah in 2003, and looked overmatched from start to finish.

"That was the best team we played to this point not only physically but execution-wise," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Michigan held a team scoreless for the first time in nearly three years.

REMEMBER HIM? Derek Jeter, who attended Michigan briefly before going on to star for the Yankees, was in Ann Arbor for the game. Harbaugh gave the 41-year-old a blue jersey with No. 2 and Jeter in maize.

NO. 1 OHIO ST. 38, W. MICH. 12: Cardale Jones passed for two touchdowns and defensive lineman Adolphus Washington returned an interception 20 yards for a score as the host Buckeyes won their 17th straight. Jones played better than a week ago, when he was benched in the second quarter of a seven-point win over Northern Illinois. He finished 19-of-33 for 288 yards Saturday with an interception before J.T. Barrett replaced him late in the game. OSU's Ezekiel Elliott topped 100 yards for the ninth straight game, finishing with 144.

NO. 2 MICH. ST. 30, CENTRAL MICH. 10: Gerald Holmes ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the host Spartans scored at least 30 points for a school-record 12th consecutive game. Connor Cook passed for only 143 yards, and the Chippewas kept their upset bid alive until the final quarter. The Spartans, who have already lost linebacker Ed Davis and cornerback Vayante Copeland to season-ending injuries, lost standout tackle Jack Conklin to a knee injury.

NO. 5 BAYLOR 70, RICE 17: Seth Russell matched a school record with six touchdown passes, three of his five in the first half to Corey Coleman for the Bears. Russell threw for 277 yards and Shock Linwood ran for 158 to help Baylor extend the nation's longest home winning streak to 18 games. Baylor, the national leader in yards and points per game coming in, had 444 yards at halftime and finished with 793.

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No. 6 N. Dame 62, UMass 27: C.J. Sanders scored on a 50-yard punt return to spark the host Irish, who started slowly, to four straight touchdowns. DeShone Kizer passed 7 yards to Chris Brown for a touchdown with six seconds left in the first half to give the Irish a 35-20 halftime lead. C.J. Prosise scored on a 16-yard run and freshman Dexter Williams added a 14-yard TD run to stretch the lead to 48-20.

No. 22 Wisconsin 28, Hawaii 0: Taiwan Deal ran for 147 yards and two scores, and the host Badgers held a nonconference opponent without a touchdown for a third straight game. UW held the Rainbow Warriors to 15 yards rushing in the first night game at Camp Randall Stadium in three years.

NO. 24 OKLA. ST. 30, TEXAS 27: Ben Grogan kicked a 40-yard field goal with six seconds left for the Cowboys' fourth straight win on the Longhorns' homefield. Grogan tied it with a 41-yarder with 1:33 left. It appeared headed for overtime a minute later until Texas punter Michael Dickson, an Australia rules football player, fumbled a snap and scrambled to get off a 10-yard punt near his end zone. OSU almost didn't get a chance at Grogan's winner when it was penalized with 10 seconds left. But because the Cowboys still had a timeout, the penalty did not force a 10-second runoff.

Bowling Green 35, Purdue 28: Travis Greene scored on a 12-yard run with nine seconds left for the visiting Falcons, who have wins over two Big Ten schools this season. Greene took a handoff, sidestepped one defender on his way to the hole and finished his scoring run by bowling over two more defenders.

Neb. 36, Southern Miss 28: Tommy Armstrong passed for 368 yards and two touchdowns, and defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun sacked Nick Mullens near midfield on the final play to hold off the visiting Golden Eagles, who stayed within striking distance after entering the fourth quarter down 22.

W. VA. 45, MARYLAND 6: Skyler Howard passed for four touchdowns and Wendell Smallwood rushed for a career-high 147 yards for the host Mountaineers, who compiled 601 yards of offense and had five interceptions.

Illinois 27, Middle Tenn. 25: Taylor Zalewksi's 51-yard field goal with just more than two minutes left completed the host Illini's comeback win. Cody Clark's 43-yard field goal for the Blue Raiders was wide left with eight seconds left.

Minn. 27, Ohio 24: Shannon Brooks rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns — the last a 3-yarder with 30 seconds remaining — to rally the host Golden Gophers.

Penn St. 37, San Diego St. 21: Christian Hackenberg passed for three touchdown for the host Nittany Lions, who scored on three of their first four possessions and added 21 points off turnovers.

EX-TAMPA BAY TECH STAR SCORES 7 TDS: Former Tampa Bay Tech quarterback Johnathan Williams passed for six touchdowns and ran for another to lead Grambling State to a 70-54 win over Prairie View in Dallas. Williams, a senior, completed 20 of 33 for 429 yards.