Ohio St. withstands late charge by Michigan St.

No. 1 Ohio State hung on -- something it wasn't able to do with the football.

The Buckeyes built a comfortable lead and then gave up 2 touchdowns off turnovers late in the third quarter -- and almost lost another fumble deep in their own territory on the next play -- but slipped past Michigan State 24-17 on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

"When your foot is on that jugular, you have to kill that fool," offensive tackle Kirk Barton said. "You don't just back off, let him stand up and punch you a couple of times and then knock him back down."

All week, both sides had talked about what happened in the 1998 meeting. The unbeaten and top-ranked Buckeyes were 26½-point favorites and had a 24-9 lead in the third quarter yet unraveled as the Spartans pulled off a 28-24 shocker.

Michigan State (5-3, 1-3 Big Ten) almost did it again.

The Buckeyes (8-0, 4-0) rolled for most of the first three quarters, building their big lead on 2 touchdown passes by Todd Boeckman, the running of Chris Wells and a bruising defense that thoroughly shut down the Spartans.

It was as if they were on autopilot, looking ahead to next week's test at Penn State.

"We needed some proof early in the game to catch us on fire and we never really go that," said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who was Ohio State's defensive coordinator when it won the 2002 national championship. "We were always one step late or one gap short."

But in the span of four plays, it was 24-14 and Michigan State blew a chance to recover another Ohio State turnover on the very next play when two defenders got their hands on a loose ball before the Buckeyes secured it.

"It's disappointing when you're going along and your defense is pitching a shutout and you give up 14 points," coach Jim Tressel said. "I'm not happy that those 14 points count against our defense, the way it looks."

The comeback started when Boeckman flipped a pass under pressure that Otis Wiley picked off and returned 54 yards to put the Spartans on the board. After a short run and two penalties gave the Buckeyes a first down at their own 15, Boeckman was sacked by Jonal Saint-Dic and fumbled, with linebacker SirDarean Adams swooping in to scoop up the ball and run 25 yards to make it 24-14.

Suddenly, a crowd of 105,287 was so silent you could hear a national championship trophy drop.

After the next kickoff, the Buckeyes took over at their own 22. On first down, Chris Wells fumbled when hit by Jeremiah Antonio and the ball bounced loose. Wiley and end Ervin Baldwin each had a clear shot at falling on the ball but failed to grab it.

"I should have fallen on it," a stricken Wiley said. "The outcome of the game could have been different."

Boeckman, who completed his first 10 passes in the game and tied a school record with 12 straight completions, now had trouble even getting time to pass, much less complete one.

After an Ohio State punt midway through the fourth quarter, Brett Swenson kicked a 43-yard field goal to tighten it to 24-17 with just 3:42 left.

It got so bad that on the kickoff that followed, Tressel instructed returner Brandon Saine to take a knee to avoid turning the ball over with another fumble.

The Buckeyes took no more chances. Wells carried on the final seven plays, gaining 36 yards as Ohio State stayed perfect.

Penn St. 36, Indiana 31: Penn forced 4 second-half turnovers, all of which led to short field goals, and Rodney Kinlaw ran for the clinching touchdown to help the Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) hang on for a victory over host Indiana (5-3, 2-3).

Penn State, now bowl eligible, is 11-0 all time against Indiana, including 5-0 in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers now must to wait at least one more week to end their bowl drought, which dates to 1993 and is the longest in the Big Ten.

Anthony Morelli was 22 of 32 for 195 yards with 2 touchdowns, and Kinlaw ran 22 times for 66 yards and the final score.

But it was Penn State's defense that put the finishing touches on the win when the Lions recovered Kellen Lewis' third fumble of the game in the final minute and ended the Hoosiers' comeback bid.

Purdue 31, Iowa 6: Curtis Painter passed for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead host Purdue (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten) over Iowa (3-5, 1-4). Two of Painter's touchdown passes went to Dorien Bryant, who bounced back from two subpar games to post a career-high 167 yards on 9 catches.

Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen completed 17 of 40 for 177 yards. It was the fewest points Iowa scored against Purdue since a 21-0 loss to the Boilermakers in 1976.

Purdue converted on 12 of 21 third downs, while Iowa converted just 3 of 16.

N. Dakota St. 27, Minnesota 21: Tyler Roehl rushed for a school record 263 yards and a touchdown, and North Dakota State (7-0) extended its winning streak to 11 with a victory over host Minnesota (1-7).

Shawn Bibeau kicked 2 field goals, and Steve Walker passed for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns for North Dakota State, which notched its second win of the year over a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Bison beat Central Michigan on Sept. 22.

The Gophers hit a low point in what has been a miserable first season under first-year head coach Tim Brewster, giving up 585 total yards and squandering several chances down the stretch.