Site last updated: Saturday, August 29, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
Butler County's great daily newspaper

No. 10 Wisconsin stuns Purdue with fumble return

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Scott Starks returned a fumble by Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton 40 yards for a touchdown in the closing minutes to lift 10th-ranked Wisconsin to a 20-17 win over No. 5 Purdue on Saturday.

The Boilermakers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) were clinging to a 17-14 lead late in the game when Orton took a naked bootleg and lunged for a first down. Starks hit Orton low and safety Robert Brooks hit him high, forcing the fumble.

Starks scooped up the loose ball and sprinted to the end zone with 2:36 to play, capping a stunning comeback for the Badgers (7-0, 4-0), who have started the season with seven straight wins for just the second time since 1912.

The Boilermakers came into the game averaging more than 500 yards and 41.8 points a game, but Orton and company were all but shut down on Saturday. They had yet to face a defense as tough as Wisconsin's, which entered the contest leading the nation in scoring defense with 6.5 points a game.

Orton, one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy, was 25-for-45 for 235 yards and a touchdown. But he had three turnovers - he was picked off once and fumbled twice in critical situations.

Top-ranked USC took command early against Arizona State and routed the 15th-ranked Sun Devils.ASU (5-1, 2-1 Pac-10) was the third straight unbeaten opponent to challenge USC (6-0, 3-0). Stanford and Cal extended the Trojans, losing by a combined nine points. But the Sun Devils presented no such challenge, trailing 42-7 at halftime.In the first half, Matt Leinart completed 11 of 16 passes for 193 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another TD. He finished 13-of-24 for 224 yards with no interceptions and was sacked once, before sitting out the fourth quarter.Freshman Dwayne Jarrett, filling in for the injured Steve Smith, made four receptions for 121 yards and three TDs in the first half and five catches for 139 yards overall. LenDale White gained 68 yards on 16 carries to lead USC's ground game.ASU's Andrew Walter completed 19 of 34 passes for 181 yards and no TDs with two interceptions, one leading to a touchdown.

Jason White threw for four touchdowns, two each to Travis Wilson and Mark Clayton in the Oklahoma win.Freshman star Adrian Peterson added 130 yards rushing - all but 26 of those after the half - and helped the Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) control the tempo in the fourth quarter. He is the only Oklahoma freshman to go over 100 yards in each of his first six games.Kansas State, which beat Oklahoma 35-7 for the Big 12 title a year ago, led three times but dropped to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play for the first time since 2001.White finished the game 20-for-31 for 256 yards with one interception.Darren Sproles, Kansas State's All-America running back, was held to 34 yards on 13 carries.

Jason Campbell passed for a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns to lead Auburn.With Campbell completing 17 of 19 passes - all in the first three quarters - the Tigers (7-0, 4-0 SEC) won their ninth straight game and lived up to their highest ranking in 10 years.Auburn scored on its first five possessions for a 30-0 lead against a team that had given the Tigers fits in recent years. Devin Aromashodu had four catches for a career-high 102 yards and one TD.The Razorbacks (3-3, 1-2) all but fell out of contention in the SEC West. Quarterback Matt Jones was 12-of-27 passing for 189 yards with two TDs.

Wyatt Sexton completed 20 of 26 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown to help Florida State rout Virginia.Sexton has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 846 yards and five touchdowns since replacing Chris Rix as the starter last month.Lorenzo Booker added 123 yards rushing and a pair of touchdown runs, and his defensive teammates limited Virginia to 20 yards rushing.Florida State (5-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a string of six straight losses against top-10 opponents, while Virginia (5-1, 2-1) missed an opportunity for a road win against a top-10 team for the first time.

Geoff McArthur caught two of Aaron Rodgers' career-high four touchdown passes, and California racked up 550 total yards.J.J. Arrington ran for a career-best 205 yards and two scores to help the Golden Bears (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10) rebound from last week's heartbreaking loss to top-ranked Southern California. Arrington became the first running back in Cal history with five straight 100-yard games, breaking Chuck Muncie's record.In Cal's first home game in five weeks, Rodgers was 19-of-29 for 260 yards - and McArthur finished with nine receptions for 163 yards, including an early 20-yard TD catch and an 80-yard scoring romp down the UCLA sideline in the fourth quarter.Drew Olson also threw four touchdown passes, but the Bruins (4-2, 2-1) couldn't catch up after Cal took a 35-14 lead on McArthur's long scoring run. Olson finished 20-of-36 for a career-best 299 yards for UCLA.

Cedric Benson rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri.Texas (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) won despite a shaky passing game as quarterbacks Vince Young and Chance Mock threw for just 58 yards and two interceptions.Benson overcame three fumbles to score Texas' final two touchdowns. His 14-yard run early in the fourth quarter gave the Longhorns some needed breathing room with a 28-14 lead.The Tigers (4-2, 2-1), who had rallied from a 14-0 deficit and knocked Young out of the game with a hard hit in the second quarter, cut it to 28-20 on Brad Smith's 1-yard TD run on fourth down, but missed the extra point when Smith dropped the snap.Smith led the Tigers with 185 yards passing and one touchdown but threw two interceptions.

Alex Smith threw four touchdown passes and run for another score, and Utah finished with 669 yards of offense.Smith wound up 29-for-37 and 341 yards as Utah (6-0) earned its third victory this season over a team from a Bowl Championship Series conference.Steve Savoy had 154 yards and a TD on 10 receptions for the Utes.North Carolina dropped to 3-4.

David Greene passed for two touchdowns in the third quarter and ran for another in a rout of Vanderbilt. He finished 14 of 21 for 191 yards.Georgia's freshmen running backs Danny Ware (127 yards) and Thomas Brown (122) became the first Bulldog pair to rush for more than 100 yards in 12 years. Brown also added a touchdown for Georgia (5-1, 3-1 SEC).Vanderbilt (1-5, 1-3) is only one defeat from its 22nd straight losing season. Georgia piled up a season-high 527 yards, holding the Commodores to just 187.

Tennessee's Erik Ainge shook off a costly interception to hit Bret Smith with the winning touchdown with 6:58 to play.Ainge was 14-of-30 for 231 yards and played all but two series for the Volunteers (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference), who scored on their first two possessions and remained in control in the Eastern Division with their 11th straight win over Ole Miss.The Rebels (3-4, 2-2) rallied and took a 17-14 lead after Bryan Brown intercepted Ainge's pass and returned it 34 yards for a TD early in the fourth quarter.But Tennessee answered by going 83 yards in nine plays, and Ainge kept the drive alive with a 39-yard pass down the left sideline to Robert Meachem. Three plays later, Ainge hit a diving Smith in the end zone from 30 yards out for the winning touchdown.Gerald Riggs Jr. ran for 118 yards and a touchdown in his first start for the Volunteers.

Michael Hart rushed for 234 yards and No. 14 Michigan rallied from a halftime deficit, sending the Illini to their 12th consecutive conference loss.The Wolverines, who struggled through the air in the first half, rushed 39 times and outscored Illinois 20-2 in the second half.Michigan (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) won its fifth straight. The Illini (3-4, 0-4) haven't won in the conference since the last game of the 2002 season.Hart ran for 127 yards and Max Martin added 60 yards rushing in the second half as the Wolverines kept the ball on the ground after two first-half interceptions of Chad Henne led to a 17-10 halftime deficit.

Reggie McNeal threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores for Texas A&M.McNeal was 19-of-25 for 288 yards and ran for 98 yards for the Aggies (5-1, 3-0 Big 12), who have their first five-game winning streak since opening the 2001 season 5-0. They're tied for the Big 12 South lead with Oklahoma.

Michigan State's Drew Stanton passed for 308 yards and ran for 102 more, setting a school record for total offense.The win kept bowl hopes alive for the resurgent Spartans (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten). Minnesota (5-2, 2-2) has lost two straight.Michigan State gained 407 yards in the first half, a school record, while taking a 31-10 lead. The Spartans finished with 636 yards of total offense.Stanton's 410 yards of total offense topped the previous mark of 393 set by quarterback Jeff Smoker against Fresno State in 2001.Stanton was 20-of-31 with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Minnesota finished with 102 yards rushing.

Antwaun Carter scored on a 2-yard run with 1:24 left, and Tyler Jones kicked a 46-yard field goal with 3 seconds left, rallying Boise State to its 17th straight victory - the longest winning streak in the nation.Boise State (6-0, 3-0 Western Athletic Conference) took possession at its own 39 with 46 seconds remaining. Carter picked up 13 yards on two runs and caught a 9-yard pass helping move the Broncos to the Tulsa 28 and set up Jones' winning field goal.T.J. Acree caught nine passes for 181 yards, including TD receptions of 7 and 28 yards from Jared Zabransky. Zabransky finished 17-for-31 for 233 yards. He rushed for 80 yards on 12 carries, including touchdowns of 11 and 5 yards.James Kilian threw three touchdown passes, including a 23-yarder to Cory Hathaway, to give Tulsa the lead in the fourth quarter. Kilian ran for two more scores for the Golden Hurricane (1-5, 0-2).

Chris Leak threw three touchdown passes and DeShawn Wynn scored three times for Florida.Leak completed 17-of-22 passes for 316 yards against the Blue Raiders (2-4).Wynn ran for 81 yards, and Ciatrick Fason added 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Gators (4-2).Florida scored on its first four possessions and led 24-3 early in the second quarter. The Gators also scored touchdowns on all three drives in the third quarter, opening up a 36-point lead.

Kenneth Darby rushed for 197 yards and scored two touchdowns to lift Alabama to its first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two years.Southern Miss (4-1) had been averaging nearly 29 points per game, but the Golden Eagles never got untracked against Alabama (5-2). The Crimson Tide limited Southern Miss to 148 yards rushing and only 23 yards passing.Alabama last beat a ranked team on Nov. 16, 2002, a 31-0 victory at then-No. 11 LSU under former coach Dennis Franchione. Alabama still needs one more win to be eligible for its first bowl trip since 2001.

Drew Tate passed for three touchdowns and ran for another to hand Ohio State its third straight loss.Iowa (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) held Ohio State's inept offense to 27 yards rushing and 177 total yards in beating the Buckeyes for just the fourth time in 42 years.Ohio State (3-3) is 0-3 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1988 after its worst loss since a 46-20 setback to Illinois in 1999. Only a touchdown with 2:19 remaining kept the Buckeyes from being shut out for the first time since 1993.Tate finished 26 of 39 for 331 yards and no interceptions. After throwing for 340 yards against Michigan State in his previous game, Tate became just the third Iowa quarterback to top 300 in consecutive games.

More in College

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS