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Iowa Blanks Illinois; EIU Drops Eastern Kentucky

The Iowa Hawkeyes struggled to a 7-0 halftime lead before turning the game over to LeShun Daniels Jr. and the defense on the way to a 28-0 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini.
 
Daniels had 159 yards on 26 carries, including second-half touchdowns of 1 and 50 yards that put the game away.
 
Iowa's defense kept its foot on the Illini for four quarters, denying them points even off a pair of first-half turnovers and keeping Was Lunt to 137 yards and an interception on 19-of-41 passing.
 
The shutout was the first for Iowa (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) since a win over Ball State in 2010. Illinois had just 198 yards of offense, had as many first downs - 10 - as punts and never pushed inside the Iowa 30.
 
 The Illini had first-half chances. But they failed to turn two turnovers and some good field position into points in their last home game of the season. Lost in the final score is a solid effort from a defense that Iowa wore down as the game went on. Iowa had 136 yards at halftime, had turned the ball over twice and, minus Aaron McCarron's punt return, hadn't scored.
 
Illinois finishes up the regular season at Northwestern next Saturday.
 
>>Eastern Illinois Drops Eastern Kentucky
 
Jared Pilson, Devin Church and Darshon McCullough ran for scores and Eastern Illinois converted one of three turnovers into points to beat Eastern Kentucky 24-0 on Saturday in a regular-season finale.
Church gained 177 yards on 25 carries and became the 12th running back in EIU history to gain 1,000 yards in a season. He scored on an 8-yard run in the third quarter.
 
It was the EIU's first shutout since its 31-0 win over Indiana State on Sept. 12, 2009.
 
Pilson's 3-yard TD run capped a five-play, 34-yard second-quarter drive and was set up by an Eastern Kentucky fumble on a punt return. The Panthers (6-5, 4-4 Ohio Valley) couldn't cash in on another fumble and an interception.
 
McCullough scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter after Church ran for 68 yards on the previous play.
 
The Panthers outgained the Colonels 431-152 in total yards and held Eastern Kentucky (3-8, 2-6) to 68 yards rushing.
 
>>Clemson Moves Up After Wild Weekend
 
Louisville fell from the College Football Playoff picture with a loss at Houston. No longer the one-loss team banging on the door to be considered for national title contention, the Cardinals also fell out of the top 10 in the updated college football rankings, down to No. 11 in the Coaches Poll.
 
Clemson officially clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title with a win at Wake Forest and now sits at No. 3, wedged between Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan in the pecking order at the top of the polls. The Big Ten continues to have a strong representation as a conference with four teams in the top eight, while the Big 12 probably saw its stock improve with two teams (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State) in the top 10.
 
USC made the biggest move up of any team, up seven spots to No. 12 while Utah, a team that beat USC earlier this season, dropped nine spots to No. 20 after losing to Oregon.
 
The Alabama Crimson Tide shook off a slow start against Chattanooga and held on for a win to secure No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. But right behind the Tide are the Big Ten rivals that will hold the sport's spotlight next Saturday with the Big Ten East hanging in the balance.
 
Ohio State nearly lost its No. 2 ranking when Mark Dantonio decided to go for two instead of forcing overtime in East Lansing, but a failed conversion and 17-16 win sends the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a winner-take-all mentality heading into Saturday's game against Michigan. The Wolverines had their own survivalist mentality going on Saturday, squeezing two touchdowns in before the snow started falling to beat Indiana 20-10.
 
USC made a big move up in this week's poll to No. 12. Utah made the biggest drop, down to No. 21 after losing to Oregon. Louisville dropped out of the top 10 following its loss to Houston, and Washington State was able to hold on to its national ranking (now at No. 23) after losing at Colorado.

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