Mark Weisman ran for a season-high 134 yards as the Iowa Hawkeyes topped Illinois, 30-14, in a Big Ten Conference tussle at Memorial Stadium.
Jake Rudock threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Hawkeyes (7-3, 4-2 Big Ten) in their final road game. All told, Iowa racked up a season-high 587 yards of total offense in the first head-to-head meeting between these two teams since 2008.
Despite having two weeks to prepare for this one, the Fighting Illini (4-6, 1-5) lost for the fifth time in their last six games. Wes Lunt was held to 102 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-25 passing in his first game back after missing the previous three with a broken fibula.
Illinois lost at home for the first time in five tries this season and now must win out to become bowl eligible. The Illini host Penn State next weekend and then will travel to Northwestern for their regular-season finale.
>>Wisconsin's Gordon Breaks Single Game Rushing Record
Melvin Gordon stiff-armed defenders, skipped past would-be tacklers, broke through wide-open holes and raced around sealed corners to rush for more yards than anyone in FBS history.
A record performance that culminated in a steady snowfall heated up the junior running back's chances to win college football's most prestigious individual honor.
Gordon bolstered his Heisman Trophy candidacy with a record 408 yards rushing and No. 22 Wisconsin ran away with a 59-24 win over No. 11 Nebraska in a key Big Ten West showdown on Saturday.
Gordon, already the nation's leading rusher entering play, ripped off seven runs of at least 26 yards and broke future NFL great LaDainian Tomlinson's FBS record for rushing yards in a game.
Tomlinson, who gained 406 yards for TCU against UTEP on Nov. 20, 1999, congratulated Gordon in a tweet.
Gordon also broke the old Wisconsin record of 339 yards set by all-time NCAA rushing leader Ron Dayne against Hawaii on Nov. 30, 1996.
He and the Badgers (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) both overcame ball security issues in the first half to score 56 straight points after trailing 17-3, picking up their fifth consecutive win.
Nebraska (8-2, 4-2) and senior running back Ameer Abdullah, whose own Heisman bid is probably over, had a three-game winning streak snapped despite having a bye week to get ready for Gordon and the Badgers.
Wisconsin took a one-game lead over Nebraska and Minnesota in the Big Ten West division with two regular-season games remaining against Iowa and Minnesota, which fell to Ohio State on Saturday.
NCAA Top-25 Football (College Football Playoff Rankings)
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#5 Alabama Crimson Tide 25, #1 Mississippi State Bulldogs 20
#3 Florida State Seminoles 30, Miami Hurricanes 26
#4 TCU Horned Frogs 34, Kansas Jayhawks 30
Oregon State Beavers 35, #6 Arizona State Sun Devils 27
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes 31, #25 Minnesota Golden Gophers 24
#15 Georgia Bulldogs 34, #9 Auburn Tigers 7
#12 Michigan State Spartans 37, Maryland Terrapins 15
#14 Arizona Wildcats 27, Washington Huskies 26
Arkansas Razorbacks 17, #17 LSU Tigers 0
Northwestern Wildcats 43, #18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 40 (OT)
#22 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 28, #19 Clemson Tigers 6
Virginia Tech Hokies 17, #21 Duke Blue Devils 16
#23 Utah Utes 20, Stanford Cardinal 17 (2OT)
Missouri Tigers 34, #24 Texas A&M Aggies 27
>>UGA's Gurley Tears ACL
(Athens, GA) -- Georgia running back Todd Gurley is done for the rest of the season. Gurley suffered a torn ACL during the fourth quarter of Saturday's win over Auburn. It was his first game back since missing four games due to NCAA violations. The former Heisman hopeful rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Gurley can still come back for his senior season or enter his name in the NFL Draft.
>>Florida Fires Muschamp
(Gainesville, FL) -- Will Muschamp is stepping down as Florida's head football coach at the end of the season. The decision was made following Florida's 23-20 overtime home loss to South Carolina on Saturday. The Gators slipped to 5-and-4 on the season and 4-and-4 in the SEC. Muschamp is just 27-and-20 and 17-and-15 in conference play in four seasons at Florida. He said "I was given every opportunity to get it done here and I simply didn't win enough games -- that is the bottom line."
