Top 25 roundup: Iowa runs out of magic

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- With Ricky Stanzi watching from the sideline on crutches, No. 8 Iowa ran out of magic.

Dan Persa threw a touchdown pass and Marshall Thomas recovered a fumble for another score, and Northwestern dealt a crushing blow to Iowa's national championship hopes with a 17-10 victory yesterday.

Stanzi was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter.

The Hawkeyes (5-1 Big Ten, 9-1) have been living dangerously all season, making a habit of comebacks and close games. Still, they were good enough to be fourth in the latest BCS standings.

Now that their 13-game winning streak -- second longest in the nation -- has been snapped, the Hawkeyes' focus can shift to the other big game in Pasadena. Iowa can still win the Big Ten and land in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 for the first time since the 1990 season.

Stanford 51, No. 7 Oregon 42

STANFORD, Calif. -- Toby Gerhart bowled over the Oregon defense to make the Cardinal bowl eligible for the first time in eight years.

Gerhart ran for a school-record 223 yards and three scores, Andrew Luck threw for two touchdowns and Stanford held on to beat No. 7 Oregon for its all-important sixth win of the season.

The loss by Oregon (5-1 Pac-10, 7-2) just a week after beating Southern California 47-20 opened up the conference race and cost the Ducks any shot at a berth in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

No. 15 Ohio State 24, No. 11 Penn State 7

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Terrelle Pryor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his return to his home state and No. 15 Ohio State won a duel of the Big Ten's top two defenses with a victory against No. 11 Penn State.

The Buckeyes (5-1 Big Ten, 8-2) got an added bonus, too: a tie for the conference lead with Iowa after Northwestern handed the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season earlier in the day.

Left for dead in the Big Ten after a demoralizing loss at Purdue last month, Ohio State's hopes for a fifth straight league title look much brighter. A showdown with Iowa at the Horseshoe awaits next week.

Navy 23, No. 19 Notre Dame 21

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Navy did it to Notre Dame again -- and this loss to the Midshipmen is even more costly.

Craig Schaefer sacked Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left and Navy held on for a victory, its second straight at Notre Dame Stadium.

No. 19 Notre Dame (6-3) scored with 24 seconds left on a 31-yard pass from Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate to cut the lead to two, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.

The win sends Navy into the Texas Bowl and effectively ends any hope Notre Dame had for a Bowl Championship Series berth.

No. 24 Wisconsin 31, Indiana 28

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- John Clay ran for 134 yards and a touchdown, Montee Ball scored two TDs and No. 24 Wisconsin held off Indiana.

Wisconsin (4-2 Big Ten, 7-2) ran for 294 yards and won its second straight.

Indiana (1-5, 4-6) has lost three in a row and six of seven.

The Badgers dominated on the ground again after rushing for 441 yards last year in Bloomington. Clay was the workhorse in the first half when Wisconsin built a 24-14 lead. He did not touch the ball in the second half.

Elsewhere

NO. 2 TEXAS 35, CENTRAL FLORIDA 3: Jordan Shipley set a Texas record with 273 yards receiving, including an 88-yard touchdown, and the No. 2 Longhorns shook off a slow start a win over Central Florida.

The sixth-year senior broke the previous best of 242 yards set in the 1987 Bluebonnet Bowl by Tony Jones. The touchdown came early in the fourth quarter on a drive that started at the 1.

Colt McCoy passed for 470 yards with two touchdowns. He was just shy of current Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite's school-record 473 yards in the 2001 Holiday Bowl.

NO. 6 TCU 55, SAN DIEGO STATE 12: Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more as No. 6 TCU won its 11th straight by beating San Diego State.

TCU (4-0 Mountain West, 8-0) remained in the chase for a BCS bowl berth by staying undefeated.

The Horned Frogs jumped in front with touchdowns on five of their first six possessions. Dalton scored on runs of 13 and 7 yards as TCU held a 31-6 halftime lead. He also hit Ryan Christian on TD passes of 44 and 29 yards.

NO. 14 PITTSBURGH 37, SYRACUSE 10: Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse.

Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the freshman's sixth 100-yard game, tight end Dorin Dickerson caught his 10th touchdown pass this season and the Panthers (5-0 in Big East, 8-1) won their fifth in a row heading into next Saturday's game against No. 19 Notre Dame.

NO. 18 OKLAHOMA STATE 34, IOWA STATE 8: Keith Toston ran for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, Zac Robinson threw a touchdown pass and No. 18 Oklahoma State bounced back from its drubbing by Texas with a victory over Iowa State.

Oklahoma State (4-1 Big 12, 7-2) controlled the game with a solid performance on both sides of the ball and reached seven victories for the fourth straight season, the first time in school history that has happened.

NO. 21 ARIZONA 48, WASHINGTON STATE 7: Travis Cobb returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to set the tone for No. 21 Arizona and the Wildcats went on to rout Washington State.

The Wildcats scored the first seven times they had the ball.

Arizona led 34-0 at the half, then William "Bug" Wright returned a punt 86 yards for a score the first time the Wildcats touched it in in the third quarter.

NO. 24 BYU 52, WYOMING 0: Max Hall threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns in just over two quarters, and No. 25 BYU won its sixth straight over Wyoming.

BYU (4-1 Mountain West, 7-2) recorded its first shutout of the season and second consecutive against the Cowboys. The Cougars beat Wyoming 44-0 last year. Hall now has 28 career wins, one behind the school record held by Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, who played at BYU from 1988-91.

FRIDAY

NO. 5 BOISE STATE 45, LOUISIANA TECH 35: Kellen Moore threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Boise State survived a brief scare on the road with a 45-35 victory over upstart Louisiana Tech.

Tech had pulled within 30-28 early in the fourth quarter on Dennis Morris' leaping catch in the corner of the end zone. The Broncos defense buckled down long enough after that for Boise State to pull away with touchdowns on consecutive drives, the second score coming on Jeremy Avery's 44-yard touchdown run.