Football Results: Nov. 2
NOTRE DAME 21, VIRGINIA TECH 20
Ian Book ran 7 yards for a touchdown with 29 seconds left to cap an 18-play, 87-yard drive and give No. 16 Notre Dame a 21-20 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish (6-2) committed three turnovers deep in Virginia Tech territory, including a fumble at the goal line that Divine Deablo returned 98 yards to tie it at 14 with 9 seconds left in the first half.
The Hokies (5-3) added a couple of field goals in the second half and the Irish missed one, leaving Notre Dame trailing by six with 3:19 remaining and the ball at its 13.
Book led a methodical drive, converting two fourth downs, including a fourth-and-10 from the Tech 33 for 26 yards to Chase Claypool that gave the Irish first-and-goal from the 7. After two incomplete passes, Notre Dame caught Virginia Tech in a blitz. Book ran away from it and darted into the end zone. Jonathan Doerer booted through the PAT for the lead, Kyle Hamilton picked off a long pass by Quincy Patterson around midfield to end the Hokies’ final possession and the Irish averted a two-game losing streak.
Book passed for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
Patterson got the start for Virginia Tech at quarterback in place of Hendon Hooker, who had started the three previous victories but suffered a knee injury in Virginia Tech’s 43-41 six-overtime victory over North Carolina two Saturdays ago. Patterson ran for 77 yards on 19 carries and completed 9 of 28 passes for 139 yards and an 8-yard touchdown strike to Damon Hazelton in the second quarter.
INDIANA 34, NORTHWESTERN 3
Stevie Scott III was a smash hit in Indiana’s Saturday night premiere.
He ran around defenders. He overpowered defenders. He even fooled defenders.
In the first November night game played in Bloomington, Scott stole the show with two touchdown runs and a 20-yard touchdown reception, leading Indiana to a 34-3 rout over Northwestern and locking up the Hoosiers’ first seven-win season since 2007.
“I do feel like there was a concerted effort by the teams we were playing to load the box and he was getting impatient and trying to bounce those runs,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “But I think coach (Mike) Hart did a good job of teaching him how to stay with it and then he started running hard, with more confidence and our offensive line keeps getting better and better. And in the passing game he (Scott) has really worked on that.”
It certainly showed Saturday.
Scott set the tone early by driving defenders backward on an overpowering 7-yard run on the game’s fifth play. He followed that by sprinting around the left side and down the field for 27 yards on the next play to set up a field goal. He wound up carrying 26 times for 116 yards and scoring on his only catch of the night, a 20-yard TD reception.
Indiana (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) has now won four straight in conference play, its longest such streak since 1993 when they won four in a row. And the Hoosiers are one win away from their first eight-win season in 26 years despite losing starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in the first half Saturday with yet another undisclosed injury.
But against the Wildcats’ flailing offense, it didn’t matter.
Northwestern (1-7, 0-6) lost its sixth straight, failed to top the 10-point mark for the fourth consecutive game and still hasn’t scored a touchdown since Oct. 5. And it was downright ugly.
Quarterback Aidan Smith lost a fumble on Northwestern’s first offensive play. Seven plays later, Scott’s 2-yard TD run made it 10-0.
After a short field goal and a defensive stop, the Wildcats gave it away with another fumble that led to the benching of Smith. Penix capped Indiana’s four-play, 18-yard run with a 1-yard plunge for a 17-3 lead.
“Can’t lose the turnover ratio,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said was what he told the Wildcats. “I thought we had a pretty good offensive game plan that we failed to execute. It starts and ends with me, and I have to take responsibility for that.”
The Wildcats’ defense wasn’t much better, though.
Two pass interference penalties in the end zone set up Scott’s second 2-yard TD run and the Hoosiers made it 34-3 with Scott’s touchdown reception and a short field goal early in the fourth.
“Seven wins to secure a winning season for the first time in 12 years is a very big deal,” Allen said. “I don’t think they’re shocked by what they’re doing, I think they expected it.”
PURDUE 31, NEBRASKA 27
Purdue may be forced to adjust yet again after quarterback Jack Plummer became the latest player sidelined on a team plagued by injuries.
Head coach Jeff Brohm said Plummer will likely miss the remainder of the season with a right ankle injury suffered in a 31-27 victory over Nebraska on Saturday.
“Probably out the rest of the year,” Brohm said. “We’ll get more details on it soon.”
The Boilermakers (3-6, 2-4 Big Ten) turned to Aidan O’Connell after Plummer needed help off the field following a run-play injury with 7:55 remaining. Purdue took the lead for good with David Bell’s go-ahead touchdown run from nine yards out with 1:08 to play.
But with three regular season games remaining, the options at quarterback are dwindling.
Purdue first lost quarterback Elijah Sindelar (broken left collarbone) four games ago, the same game in which All-American receiver Rondale Moore suffered a left hamstring injury. The Boilers have lost three games since, making Saturday’s win that much better.
“It was a big win for our team today,” Brohm said. “It has been rough at times this year. If you want to win, it’s not supposed to be a whole lot of fun. We’ve made mistakes this year. We’ve been hard on our guys and quite demanding a bit. But you have to back off and allow these guys to play and make mistakes.”
Plummer finished 25-of-34 passing with 242 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he rushed 61 yards on 12 carries.
O’Connell was 6-of-7 with 62 yards passing, including completions to Brycen Hopkins for 10 and 26 yards during the game-winning drive.
Purdue took a 24-20 lead four plays after Plummer’s injury when King Doerue scored on a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:50 to go in back-and-forth fourth quarter. Doerue finished with 71 yards rushing on 15 carries. He had 31 yards on five receptions and a 3-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.
The Cornhuskers (4-5, 2-4) regained the lead with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Adrian Martinez with 4:21 to play.
Martinez was 22 of 39 for 247 yards passing and an interception. He rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries and scored twice for the Cornhuskers, who have lost two straight to Purdue and four of their last five games overall.
“The last two games are games we easily could have won and we didn’t for a lot of reasons,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost said. “Collectively we made too many mistakes and should have really been ahead at halftime. Probably ahead by quite a bit. Instead we find ourselves in the hole at halftime. Sooner or later that stuff has to stop.”
The Cornhuskers took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Boilermakers scored twice in the second to take a 14-10 halftime lead.