Big Ten teams have mixed luck against nonconference opposition

Monday, Sept. 9, 2002 | 1:09 a.m.

Quarterback Brooks Bollinger gave his arm a good workout as Wisconsin stretched its unbeaten streak to three.

Bollinger passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns to freshman Jonathan Orr as the No. 25 Badgers used a 27-point second quarter to beat visiting West Virginia 34-17 Saturday.

The other Big Ten teams had mixed luck going up against nonconference opposition. Iowa had a bit of trouble gaining a 29-24 win at Miami of Ohio, but Michigan easily disposed of visiting Western Michigan 35-12 and Michigan State had no troubled dumping invading Rice 27-10, while Minnesota had a convincing 35-11 win at Rice and Ohio State dumped Kent State 51-17 at Columbus. But Indiana fell 40-13 at Utah, Notre Dame got past visiting Purdue 24-17, Southern Mississippi edged Illinois 23-20, and Northwestern had a 48-24 home-field loss to Texas Christian.

Behind great protection, Bollinger found his receivers wide open on short and long patterns, completing 12 of 15 passes for 203 yards in the first half as the Badgers 3 (0)- built a 34-3 lead.

Meanwhile, Iowa, the first Big Ten team to visit Miami University, needed a second-half rally to make sure it didn't wind up as the first to lose there, too.

Brad Banks threw a 38-yard pass to set up a touchdown, then hooked up with C.J. Jones on a 48-yard score a few minutes later as Iowa 2 (0)- pulled out for the victory.

At Ann Arbor, John Navarre threw two of his career-high four touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards as seventh-ranked Michigan beat Western Michigan.

The Wolverines 2 (0)-, scored TDs on their first two possessions and built a 29-point lead late in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, at East Lansing, Charles Rogers caught nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns as No. 15 Michigan State created four second-half turnovers to survive an early scare and defeat Rice.

Rogers, the preseason Big Ten offensive player of the year, separated himself from defenders all afternoon and caught seven passes of 10 yards or more.

Asad Abdul-Khaliq threw a career-high four touchdown passes - three to tight end Ben Utecht - in Minnesota's victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Abdul-Khaliq was 18-of-27 for 246 yards. Utecht caught goal-line fade routes of 1 and 3 yards from Abdul-Khaliq in the first half, and then hauled in a 23-yard TD pass midway through the third quarter to put the Gophers 2 (0)- up 21-3.

Kent State had not played Ohio State in its first 79 years of football.

It may be that long before the Golden Flashes want a rematch.

Maurice Clarett scored twice and Craig Krenzel completed his first 11 passes as the No. 8-ranked Buckeyes cruised to the easy win.

At Salt Lake City, Marty Johnson ran for 229 yards in three quarters, the fourth-best total in Utah history, and J.R. Peroulis added 118 more as the Utes beat Indiana.

It was the first game at Rice-Eccles Stadium since the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, as well as Gerry DiNardo's first road game as coach of the Hoosiers 1 (1)-.

Meanwhile, Gerome Sapp and Lionel Bolen scored touchdowns on fumble returns 11 seconds apart, and Vontez Duff added a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown as No. 23 Notre Dame beat Purdue 24-17 on Saturday.

Notre Dame, which had the worst start in school history last season by losing its first three games, is 2-0 for the first time since 1996. Purdue 1 (1)- has lost 13 straight at Notre Dame Stadium since winning in 1974.

Down in Hattiesburg, Derrick Nix ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns, despite not playing the second quarter after he suddenly became ill, as Southern Mississippi defeated Illinois 23-20 Saturday.

And at Evanston, Corey Connally rushed for 88 yards and a score and had another 33 yards receiving as Texas Christian beat Northwestern.

Jason Wright was the lone bright spot for Northwestern 0 (2)-, returning the opening kickoff for a school-record 100 yards.