Iowa wins on last play
To stay undefeated, Iowa needed every last second and one perfect throw from Ricky Stanzi.
Stanzi connected with Marvin McNutt for a 7-yard touchdown pass as time expired and No. 7 Iowa escaped with a 15-13 victory against host Michigan State on Saturday night.
The Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time in school history and have sole possession of first place in the Big Ten at 4-0. Comebacks and close games have been their forte.
"It speaks to our players, the character that they have," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They realized they still had time."
Iowa, sixth in the BCS standings, has won 12 straight dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in the nation.
Michigan State (4-4, 3-2) grabbed a 13-9 lead with 1:37 remaining when Kirk Cousins hit Blair White on a 30-yard touchdown. But the Hawkeyes stormed back with a sharp, game-winning drive.
Stanzi hit Derrell Johnson-Koulianos with a 16-yard pass to move Iowa to the Michigan State 15. A defensive holding penalty wiped out an apparent interception - upsetting a loud Michigan State crowd - and moved the ball to Spartans 7.
Stanzi threw 3 incomplete passes in the end zone, but on fourth down with 2 seconds on the clock, he hit McNutt on a slant pattern in front of Michigan State defensive back Chris L. Rucker.
"He made a nice break inside, made a great grab," Ferentz said of McNutt.
Said Stanzi: "Obviously Marvin did a great job of getting open and the O-line did a great job of protecting."
The overall numbers were ugly for Stanzi - 11 of 27 for 138 yards - but he made some pretty throws on the last drive.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said he "couldn't believe" there were still two seconds on the clock before the last play.
"When we scored at the end, I thought that we had it," Dantonio said. "I'm proud - not happy. Proud of the way our football team responded."
Adam Robinson had 109 yards on 27 carries for Iowa.
Cousins completed 16 of 32 passes for 225 yards for Michigan State.
"It's never over till the clock says zero," Cousins said. "We're going to learn from this and move on."
Penn St. 35, Michigan 10: Daryll Clark threw 3 of his 4 touchdown passes to Graham Zug, helping No. 13 Penn State beat host Michigan for its first win at the Big House since 1996.
The Nittany Lions (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) shut down the Wolverines (5-3, 1-3) after they opened with a 70-yard TD drive.
Clark (16 of 27, 230 yards) connected with Zug on the ensuing possession to tie the game. He threw 2 more TD passes to Zug in the third quarter, giving Penn State a 32-10 lead that it had until taking 10-plus minutes off the clock and kicking a field goal in the fourth.
Michigan struggled to move the ball and had 4 turnovers.
Tate Forcier was 13 of 30 for 140 yards and an interception. Evan Royster complemented them with 100 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Ohio St. 38, Minnesota 10: Terrelle Pryor threw 2 TD passes and ran for another score to lead No. 18 Ohio State past visiting Minnesota.
A week after a devastating 26-18 loss at 2-touchdown underdog Purdue, the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) made Minnesota (4-4, 2-3) pay for its bad plays. The Golden Gophers had two major misplays in the secondary and 2 turnovers inside their own 20 that gave the Buckeyes 28 points.
Pryor hit on 13 of 25 passes for 239 yards and ran for 104 yards on 15 carries.