Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen comfortably sat in the recruiting lounge of the team's palatial football facility. He deftly dodged questions of his Heisman Trophy candidacy and an NFL future. He talked of how the adversity of the previous two seasons was paying dividends this year.
No one lost more than Iowa. Simply because no one had more at stake than the Hawkeyes. And because it's hard to imagine Ricky Stanzi returning any time soon after seeing that painful-to-watch replay of his severe ankle sprain.
Corn-shucking cynics have insisted all season that the passwords at Kinnick Stadium have been ''lucky'' and ''charmed.'' But no one knew those words would pass from No. 8 Iowa to Northwestern in the blink of a Hawkeye on Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS -- As defensive end Clay Nurse rumbled off the field, he shouted it out loud. Almost snarled it.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's Fiesta Bowl bid and Jimmy Clausen's Heisman Trophy hopes were sunk with a 23-21 loss Saturday to Navy.
Terrelle Pryor tiptoed his way around the Penn State defense, then smiled and danced all over the Beaver Stadium turf in State College, Pa.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Wide receiver Julio Jones left defenders grasping at his heels, and Alabama's defense was typically immovable. The Crimson Tide is riding that combination to the SEC championship game for the second consecutive season.
With Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi lost to an ankle injury on a massively game-changing play early in the second quarter, Northwestern scored one of its biggest upsets in years, handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season, 17-10.
Navy did it to Notre Dame again -- and this loss to the Midshipmen is even more costly. Craig Schaefer sacked Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left Saturday and Navy held on for a 23-21 victory, its second straight at Notre Dame Stadium.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Terry Hawthorne returned an interception for a touchdown and Clay Nurse had four of Illinois' eight sacks to lead the Illini to a 35-32 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 24 Wisconsin relied on pure power, and it worked perfectly against Indiana yet again.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Terrelle Pryor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his return to his home state and No. 15 Ohio State won a duel of the Big Ten's top two defenses with a 24-7 victory against No. 11 Penn State on Saturday.
For all the tumult that has surrounded his career, it's hard to believe Mikel Leshoure still has a big chunk of his sophomore season left.
The last thing No. 19 Notre Dame (6-2) needs is to have its BCS bowl hopes run over today by Navy (6-3).
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 24 Wisconsin followed the same old script to grind down Indiana.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Joey Elliott threw for a career-high 367 yards and two touchdowns, ran for a score and Purdue held on for a 38-36 victory against Michigan.
PITTSBURGH -- Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.
This year, it's OK to drink the Big Ten Kool-Aid. Even the national skeptics are on board, putting six Big Ten teams in the Associated Press' preseason Top 25, including two in the top 10: No. 2 Michigan State, No. 7 Purdue, No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 23 Illinois and No. 25 Minnesota.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With the extremely limited playing time he received backing up Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen the last four years, Evan Sharpley guessed his football career was over.
PROVO, UtahA New Mexico soccer player has become an Internet celebrity for the wrong reasons.
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen suffered a bit of a setback with the turf toe he has played through the last five games. He aggravated his injured right foot in the third quarter of the victory over Washington State.
DEKALB, Ill. -- If red isn't one of Jerry Kill's favorite colors, it probably should be.
Minnesota (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) might be tougher for Illinois (2-6, 1-5) to defend Saturday (11 a.m., BTN, 560-AM) without star receiver Eric Decker and his 94.8 receiving yards, Illini coach Ron Zook said.
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen suffered a bit of a setback with the turf toe he has played through the last five games. He aggravated his injured right foot in the third quarter of the victory over Washington State.
Redshirt freshman Connor Krisch is back on his old turf and running like a new man.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A fight over the shoes Michael Jordan's son will wear at Central Florida has cost the school any future sponsorship with Adidas.
Neil Hayes: The decision that will most impact the future of Notre Dame football will not be made by President John I. Jenkins, athletics director Jack Swarbrick, coach Charlie Weis or the small group of influential alumni who have served as behind-the-scenes power brokers in the not-so-distant past.
Notre Dame got good and bad injury news Tuesday. Coach Charlie Weis said Michael Floyd, the team's top receiver, who has missed five games with a broken collarbone, will be back when the No. 19 Irish (6-2) host Navy on Saturday (2:30, Ch.5, 890-AM). Floyd underwent a CT scan and was cleared by doctors Monday night.
Ron Zook has had the same thought you've had: With all the speed true freshman Terry Hawthorne has, why not get him the ball on offense?
The Mike Kafka hamstring crisis might be shorter-lived than a second-half lead by Indiana. The Northwestern star quarterback said he fully expects to play when the teetering Wildcats (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) visit No. 8 Iowa (9-0, 5-0) on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN, 720-AM).
Notre Dame got good and bad injury news Tuesday. Coach Charlie Weis said Michael Floyd, the team's top receiver who has missed the last five games due to a broken collarbone, will be back when the No. 19 Irish (6-2) host Navy Saturday (2:30, Ch. 5, 890-AM). Floyd underwent a CT scan and was cleared by doctors Monday night.
