DETROIT—Anibal Sanchez retired the final batter on a weak grounder, and Detroit players began celebrating around the mound.Moments later, the home crowd roared a little louder when the AL Central standings were posted on the scoreboard in left field — with the Tigers back in a tie for first.

“We control our own destiny. We’ve just got to continue to play good baseball,” catcher Gerald Laird said. “We don’t have to rely on anybody to beat anybody now. It’s all on our shoulders.”

Sanchez threw his first shutout in over a year, and the Tigers caught the White Sox atop the division with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Detroit had spent only one day in first since the start of August. The Tigers were tied with the White Sox after beating them Sept. 2 — but quickly fell back.Now it’s even again with eight games to play. Even in this season of expanded playoffs, the White Sox and Detroit are in an old-fashioned division race with seemingly everything at stake — because a wild card isn’t a likely option.The White Sox lost 4-3 to Cleveland earlier in the day, then Sanchez (4-6) took the mound and retired the first 11 hitters he faced.The Tigers trailed the White Sox by three games on the morning of Sept. 19, but they’ve made up the ground and will have a chance to win a second straight division title if they can finish strongly enough.

Former Cub DJ LeMahieu was ready to swing for the fences in his next at-bat. The weather spoiled his plans.LeMahieu had three hits and finished a home run short of the cycle, Wilin Rosario went deep and the Colorado Rockies beat the Cubs 10-5 in a rain-shortened game Tuesday night.The teams played in a constant drizzle throughout the game with temperatures hovering in the low 50s. The game was delayed in the middle of the seventh and called 48 minutes later.Had the rain held off, LeMahieu was ready to try for the cycle.

“If it’s still a 10-5 lead I’m definitely going to try to go for it,” he said.

Matt McBride homered and Chris Nelson had three hits for the Rockies, who won a matchup of 94-loss teams. Carlos Torres (5-3) got the win after allowing one run in two innings of relief.Colorado won its second straight after dropping nine in a row. The Rockies’ bats stayed hot, pounding out 15 hits. It’s the sixth consecutive game they’ve had double-digit hits.

“The job that our young kids are doing offensively is beyond impressive,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “Ten runs and 15 hits in six innings of offense is a pretty good night’s work.”

LeMahieu stood out among the hitters. He led off the third with a triple, doubled in the fourth and singled in the fifth.

“[Anthony] Rizzo, when I got that base hit, says `cycle alert,”‘ LeMahieu said.

He never got the chance to complete the cycle. The rain became heavier and after Alfonso Soriano flew out to end the top of the seventh the tarp came on.

“The outfield’s going to be wet and you’re not going to be able to make any throws, but the main thing was that infield,” Rockies center fielder Tyler Colvin said. “It’s muddy.”

Dave Sappelt and Starlin Castro homered for the Cubs, who have lost seven of eight. The Cubs are five losses shy of its first 100-loss season since 1966.Colorado left-hander Jorge De La Rosa made his second start after missing nearly 16 months following Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He struggled through three innings, allowing four runs — two earned — and five hits.

“You don’t expect him to be pinpoint sharp,” Tracy said. “You want to see him throw pain-free, which he is doing.”

Colorado’s offense took him off the hook.Trailing 5-3, the Rockies rallied to take the lead in the fourth. LeMahieu drove in a run with a double and Josh Rutledge’s two-run double down the left field line made it 6-5.Cub starter Chris Rushin (1-3) allowed six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“When I fell behind, they capitalized on my mistakes,” Rushin said. “And that’s pretty much what happened on all my extra-base hits. I left the ball up an when I did, they capitalized on it.”

McBride hit a three-run homer off Rafael Dolis in the fifth to make it 9-5.Sappelt led off the game with his first major league home run. The Cubs scored two more runs in the first on shortstop Rutledge’s throwing error and Wellington Castillo’s double.Rosario’s 27th homer of the year leading off the second made it 3-1. Castro hit a solo shot to center in the fourth to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.Colorado cut the lead to 4-3 in their half of the fourth on Colvin’s two-run triple to right.

“To score that many runs early and then just give it right back, you’re not going to win many road games giving up that many hard hit balls and balls out of the ballpark,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.

NOTES—Sappelt’s home was his first in 153 major league at-bats. … An MRI on Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez’s left hamstring was negative. Gonzalez didn’t start for the eighth straight game while he nurses the tight ligament. … Colorado OF Dexter Fowler (left wrist tendinitis) was out of the lineup for the third straight game.

The White Sox gave Detroit an opening to tie for the AL Central lead when Gordon Beckham hit into a game-ending forceout with the potential tying run on second base Tuesday in a 4-3 loss to the last-place Cleveland Indians.Down 4-0, the White Sox closed when A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo hit consecutive fifth-inning home runs off Corey Kluber (2-4) and then pulled within a run when Paul Konerko homered off Chris Perez leading off the ninth.Perez walked a pair of batters with two outs, and Beckham grounded to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who threw to second baseman Jason Kipnis for the force. The Sox (82-72) have held sole possession of the division lead since Sept. 3. Detroit (81-72) hosts Kansas City on Tuesday night.After Wednesday night’s series finale, the White Sox host a four-game series against Tampa Bay and then close with three games in Cleveland.Detroit finishes its four-game series against Kansas City on Thursday, then winds up with a pair of three-game series at Minnesota and the Royals.Francisco Liriano (6-12) allowed all four runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings. He is 1-2 with a 6.30 ERA in his last seven appearances.Kluber (2-4) gave up four hits in seven innings, retiring nine of his last 10 batters. Vinnie Pestano and Perez completed the six-hitter, with Perez gaining his 37th save in 41 chances.Russ Canzler had three hits and homered for the second straight game, putting Cleveland ahead in the second.Canzler doubled between a pair of walks as the Indians loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, and Thomas Neal barely beat out a potential double-play grounder as Carlos Santana scored. Upset by first base umpire Jerry Layne’s call, Pierzynski jumped up and down at home plate.Ezequiel Carrera and Shin-soo Choo followed with consecutive RBI singles that chased Liriano.

NOTES—Pierzynski has a career-best 27 homers. Only Carlton Fisk has more homers in a season by a White Sox catcher, with 37 in 1985. …The Sox have hit back-to-back homers 10 times this year. … The teams are a combined 2 for 8 in steal attempts this series. … White Sox manager Robin Ventura shuffled his rotation, giving starters Jake Peavy and Chris Sale an extra day of rest. Peavy will pitch the series opener against the Rays on Thursday, and Sale will start the series finale on Sunday. Lefty Hector Santiago (3-1, 3.45 ERA) was plugged in for the series finale against Cleveland on Wednesday. The Indians start their best, RHP Justin Masterson (11-15, 4.97). … Cleveland RHP Roberto Hernandez (sprained right ankle) will throw three innings in a simulated game Wednesday. Indians manager Manny Acta said Hernandez will possibly throw one more simulated game after that and be done for the season.

This COULD be the biggest win of the season yet for the White Sox! Adam Dunn homered twice, including a clutch three-run shot in the eighth inning, and the Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Monday night to maintain their one-game lead in the AL Central.Dunn drove an 0-2 pitch from Vinnie Pestano (3-3) over the wall in right-center with runners on the corners and two out in the eighth, putting Chicago ahead 5-3. Kevin Youkilis kept the inning alive with an infield single before Dunn connected for his 41st homer of the season.Dunn also went deep in the sixth as the Sox snapped a five-game losing streak and stayed in front of second-place Detroit, which beat Kansas City 6-2. The top two teams in the division each have nine games left.Brett Myers (3-3) pitched the eighth for the win. The Indians got a run in the ninth when Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-out RBI double off Donnie Veal, who then retired Jason Kipnis on a grounder to convert his first save opportunity of the season.Cleveland starter Zach McAllister struck out seven in six innings and was charged with two runs and four hits.Chris Sale gave up 10 hits in seven innings, including Russ Canzler’s two-run homer in the sixth that gave the Indians a 3-1 lead.The White Sox had another run cut down at the plate in the fourth when Alejandro De Aza tried to score from first on Youkilis’ double into the left-field corner. Catcher Lou Marson took the relay throw from third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall and first base umpire Dan Bellino, who was covering the plate, called De Aza out.A replay showed that De Aza’s foot hit the plate before the tag.The White Sox tied it in the fifth on another close play after Alex Rios singled and A. J. Pierzynski walked. After a fielder’s choice put runners at the corners, Alexei Ramirez hit a grounder to shortstop and just beat the relay throw to first, allowing Rios to score on the failed double play.Cleveland grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third on Kipnis’ single and Asdrubal Cabrera’s double to right.

NOTES—Dunn now has six seasons of at least 40 homers. He’s also the sixth player in White Sox history to reach 40, joining Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, Albert Belle, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome. … Indians OF Michael Brantley (sore groin) was out of the starting lineup. Manager Manny Acta said Brantley was injured during a rundown against Kansas City. He said Brantley will “need a day or two.” … Acta said SS Jason Donald (wrist) was “a little sore” after swinging a bat Sunday, the first time he’s done so since being hit by a pitch Sept. 14. There is no timetable for his return. …. White Sox manager Robin Ventura said Jake Peavy might be pushed from Wednesday to Thursday, meaning he would pitch the opener of the final four-game home series against the Rays.

SEATTLE—Is the NFL getting their current Power Play that they are pulling on their veteran Officials up their rear ends? In a bizarre ending that capped a tough weekend for replacement officials, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on Monday night.Russell Wilson threw a disputed 24-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate on the final play of the game, a game that finally ended 10 minutes later when both teams were brought back on the field for the extra point.Wilson scrambled from the pocket and threw to the corner of the end zone as the clock expired. Tate shoved Green Bay’s Sam Shields out of the way, then wrestled with M.D. Jennings for possession. It was ruled on the field as a touchdown and after a lengthy review, referee Wayne Elliott came out from under the hood and announced “the ruling on the field stands” and CenturyLink Field erupted in celebration.It was nearly 10 minutes before the teams were brought back for the extra point.The final decision is only going to fuel debate about the replacement officials coming off a weekend filled with disputed calls.

“Don’t ask me a question about the officials,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years in football.I know it’s been a wild weekend in the NFL and I guess we’re part of it now.”

And the last game of the weekend will debated more than any other.Seattle (2-1) won its second straight, while Green Bay (1-2) and saw its streak of wins in six straight road openers snapped.Wilson’s heave came at the end of a final frantic drive after Seattle had previously missed on a fourth-down attempt from the Green Bay 7 with two minutes left. The turnover on downs appeared to end Seattle’s hopes and cap an impressive second-half comeback by the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked eight times — all in the first half.Green Bay averted disaster when John Kuhn fumbled on the Packers first play following the change of possession but center Jeff Saturday recovered. The Seahawks held and forced Green Bay to punt from the 4 with 57 seconds left. The 41-yard punt set Seattle up at the Green Bay 46 with 46 seconds remaining.Wilson hit Sidney Rice for 22 yards on a slant then went for Tate in the end zone but the ball was batted away with 18 seconds left. He threw over the head of Evan Moore on second down leaving 12 seconds remaining and missed Tate again at the 5.Wilson took the final snap with 8 seconds remaining. He appeared to be looking for Rice on the right side of the end zone, but rolled left and threw for Tate, who was in a crowd of three Packers defenders. His shove of Shields was obvious and it was never clear who had possession between Tate and Jennings.Seattle instantly celebrated while the Packers argued with anyone in a striped shirt. Both teams were eventually shoved to the sidelines as Tate stomped through the end zone in celebration. Following the review, Elliott’s announcement sent the stadium into delirium and even more confusion ensued until the teams finally returned to the field for the extra point.

“From what I understood from the officials it was a simultaneous catch. Tie goes to the runner. Good call,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.

Rodgers had quite a different opinion.

“It was awful. Just look at the replay. And then the fact that it was reviewed, it was awful,” he said. “That’s all I’m going to say about it.We shouldn’t have been in that position.”

It was Tate’s second touchdown of the game after catching a 41-yard TD in the second quarter to give Seattle a 7-0 lead. He finished with three catches for 68 yards, while Wilson was 10 of 21 for 130 yards.The Packers’ frustration was almost instant.

Guard T.J. Lang was even more emphatic, tweeting that the Packers were robbed “by the refs. Thanks NFL.”

Green Bay shook off a disastrous first half where Rodgers was sacked eight times and completely controlled possession in the final 30 minutes. Green Bay ran 41 offensive plays in the second half, got field goals of 29 and 40 yards from Mason Crosby and Cedric Benson’s 1-yard TD run with 8:44 left to take a 12-7 lead.Others spoke their mind by tweeting.

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman tweeted “These games are a joke,” while NBA MVP LeBron James tweeted “I simply just LOVE the NFL to much to see these mistakes. I’m sick like I just played for the Packers”

Major Wright saw Sam Bradford zeroing in on Danny Amendola and knew where the ball was headed.It ultimately wound up in the end zone, and that was just fine with the Bears. They got back to winning thanks to their defense, with Wright coming up with the biggest play.He returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, and the Bears beat the St. Louis Rams 23-6 on Sunday.The defense came to the rescue against the Rams (1-2), holding them to 160 yards and sacking Bradford six times. That was enough on a day when Jay Cutler struggled, and the Bears (2-1) bounced back after an ugly loss to Green Bay the previous week. And that despite a rather blah performance from the offense-again.
The Bears had just kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 13-6 in the fourth quarter before Wright made his key play. Bradford had been hit hard by Israel Idonije and Stephen Paea on the previous play when Tim Jennings deflected a slant intended for Amendola.Wright caught the ball at the 45 and ran untouched to the end zone, making it a 14-point game and finally giving the Bears some breathing room.

“Sam Bradford was looking his way the whole time,” Wright said. “As we were watching film, he is not the type of quarterback that is going to look one way and go back the other way. He was honing in on that side and I was like, ‘You know what, let me take a shot over here,’ and I ended up taking a shot over there. … [Jennings] tipped it up and me being in the right spot at the right time [I] took it in.”

It wasn’t exactly the sort of showing the Bears were looking for after that brutal 23-10 loss to the Packers, but they got by because the defense did its part. For the offense, well, that’s two bad outings in a row.

“Some games, we are going to need to score 41,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Other games, we’re not going to need to. We’re going to have to play good, sound football and make the plays when it’s required, and it was that type of day.”

One positive note for the offense was Cutler appearing to keep his composure in this game. Considering he got sacked seven times, threw four interceptions and berated and bumped left tackle J’Marcus Webb on the sideline, that was an improvement.Otherwise, there weren’t many positives for him.

“Not every game is going to be 41-21,” Cutler said, referring to the season-opening win over Indianapolis. “We’re not going to come out every game and blow the doors off offensively and defensively. This is what is going to be more likely week in and week out.”

Cutler completed 17 of 31 passes for 183 yards. He was sacked twice and threw an interception to Cortland Finnegan, who also delivered a shot after the game.Asked what he saw from the Bears’ quarterback, he said, “Not much. Not much. I think he had 190 yards passing, something like that. And no touchdowns. Typical him.”

Brandon Marshall had trouble hanging onto the ball at times and wound up with five receptions for 71 yards after catching just two passes the previous week. Michael Bush ran for 55 yards and a touchdown with Matt Forte sidelined by a sprained right ankle.

“It’s not how we wanted to perform, but got a W,” Bush said.

Credit for that goes to the defense.Idonije had 2½ sacks, and the Bears simply made it a miserable Bradford, who was 18 of 35 for 152 yards with two interceptions.Steven Jackson managed just 29 yards rushing after missing most of the previous game with a groin injury and sitting out practice during the week, and Amendola had five catches for 55 yards after tying a club record with 15 catches for 160 yards.

“We definitely didn’t play well today,” Bradford said. “Give them credit, they played us tough. But I think there are a lot of things when we look at the film that are going to fall on us. Things that we were in control of and just didn’t handle. It was a tough game, a lot for us to learn from and move on as a group.”

Protection might be at the top of the list. Then again, the Bears had something to do with it, too.For all the questions surrounding their defensive line, the results so far are good. They came in tied for second in the league with eight sacks and added to their total with another balanced effort.It’s not just Julius Peppers being disruptive; he’s getting help, too.

“We’re fighting for the sacks,” said Paea, who had one. “It’s not just one person on the quarterback. It’s two or three.”

The effort on defense was enough to overcome a subpar performance by the offense.When the Bears had chances, they simply didn’t take advantage. With the Bears leading by four early in the final quarter, a 21-yard scramble by Cutler put the ball on the 6. But the Bears settled for a field goal to make it 13-6 after he overthrew an open Devin Hester in the end zone, the ball going through the receiver’s hands as he tried to make a leaping catch.That drew more groans from an already weary crowd, but the Bears came out on top.

“Most games are like this,” Cutler said. “Most games are slug-outs. It’s a four-quarter game.”

NOTES—Jackson said afterward that he wasn’t risking further injury by playing and that he “came out of this clean.” He added: “I just wish I could have been more productive and help my team win.”….Finnegan has an interception in each of the three games…..Bears FB Evan Rodriguez left with a knee injury early in the game.

ANAHEIM—Jered Weaver kept the Los Angeles Angels within striking distance in the AL wild-card chase, posting his league-leading 19th victory on Sunday with a 4-1 decision over the struggling White Sox.The White Sox lost their fifth in a row and led Detroit by a half-game in the AL Central. The Tigers lost the opener of their day-night doubleheader against Minnesota.Albert Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for the 11th time in 12 big league seasons with a two-run double as the Angels remained 2 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second wild-card spot.Kendrys Morales hit a two-run homer that helped the Angels complete a three-game sweep.Weaver (19-4) established a career high for wins. He threw 113 pitches in 6 1-3 innings, allowing a run and five hits and dropping his ERA to 2.74.Kevin Jepsen threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings in relief of Weaver. Garrett Richards, Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri each retired a batter in the ninth.Gavin Floyd (10-11) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings while striking out eight.The Sox only run came in the seventh, when A.J. Pierzynski doubled, advanced on Weaver’s wild pitch and scored on Dayan Viciedo’s sacrifice fly.Floyd matched zeros with Weaver until the sixth, when the Angels erupted for four runs. Mike Trout walked with one out, Torii Hunter sent him to third with a hit-and-run single to left field, Pujols lined the next pitch to left field to score both runners and Morales followed with his 22nd homer.The victory didn’t come easily for Weaver, who battled through 94-degree heat during a 33-pitch first inning. He escaped a bases-loaded jam, striking out Alex Rios at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat and retiring Pierzynski on a grounder.

NOTES—Weaver is 101-51 with a 3.23 ERA through his first 205 major league starts. Brother Jeff was 76-84 record with a 3.09 ERA in his first 205 big league starts with the Tigers, Yankees and Dodgers. … The Angels have won only five games all season in which they scored fewer than three runs, and five different pitchers started those games. Oddly enough, Weaver wasn’t one of them. … The Angels have swept seven series of three or more games this season, and five of them have come since Aug. 20, including a three-game set against Detroit on their previous homestand. … Paul Konerko is 2 for 22 lifetime against Weaver after going 1 for 2 with a walk. … Trout has scored a major league-high 122 runs, two shy of the Angels’ franchise record set by Vladimir Guerrero in 2004.

Kyle Lohse and the short-handed St. Louis Cardinals won for the sixth time in seven games, holding their lead in the NL wild-card race with a 6-3 win Sunday over the Cubs.Minus All-Stars Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran from the starting lineup, the Cardinals stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.Lohse (16-3) made his team-leading 32nd start, giving up three runs and five hits in six innings.Jason Motte earned his sixth save in the Cardinals’ last seven games, and now has 40 saves this season.Molina did not play for the defending World Series champions because of lower back spasms, having hurt himself while getting out of the way of a pitch Saturday. The catcher was feeling better, manager Mike Matheny said, still had some discomfort.Beltran did not start because of what Matheny believed to be food poisoning. The outfielder had a pinch-hit RBI single during a two-run eighth.Allen Craig got three hits and drove in two runs for St. Louis.Shortstop Pete Kozma, called up by the Cardinals in late August, hit his first major league homer, a solo drive in the sixth. He also had a sacrifice fly.Alfonso Soriano hit his 31st homer for the Cubs, giving him a career-high 105 RBIs.Cubs starter Justin Germano (2-9) worked 5 2-3 innings, giving up four earned runs and 10 hits.Craig hit a two-run double with two outs in the third and David Freese had an RBI single. St. Louis would have had the bases loaded for Craig, but a baserunning mistake found both Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday on third base and Carpenter was tagged out.The Cubs got two runs back in the fourth on Welington Castillo’s RBI double and a wild pitch.

NOTES—The Cubs saluted retired pitcher Kerry Wood in pregame ceremonies. Wood, a 12-year Cubs veteran and 1998 NL Rookie of the Year, retired in May with the third-most strikeouts in team history (1,470). “I was fortunate to call Wrigley Field my home,” he said. “A lot of great memories and a lot of great moments.”

SOUTH BEND—No crazy comebacks this year by Michigan against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish didn’t even let Denard Robinson and the Wolverines get into the end zone this year.Manti Te’o had two interceptions as the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish picked off five Michigan passes and forced a fumble and backup quarterback Tommy Rees sparked the Notre Dame offense in a 13-6 win over the Wolverines Saturday night.

“A great team win for our guys,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “Defensively what can I say? Six turnovers, limited who we felt is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the country to no touchdowns. Just an incredible performance by our defense.”

Robinson, who amassed 948 yards of total offense in victories over the Irish past two years, wasn’t as effective this time around as the Irish repeatedly forced him into mistakes. He threw four interceptions in the first half, then lost a fumble at the Notre Dame 8-yard line on the first drive of the second half.The Irish (4-0) are off to their best start since 2002 and took another step in trying to re-establish themselves as a college football power. It was a setback for Michigan (2-2), which lost its eighth straight road game against ranked teams since beating second-ranked Notre Dame 47-21 in 2006.The victory ended a streak of three straight games in which Michigan beat the Irish with a score in the final 27 seconds.

“As much as we would have liked to have executed better on offense, give Michigan a lot of credit,” Kelly said. “They did a very good job defensively, and we knew we were going to be in for this kind of close, tough, hard-nosed football game, and proud of the way our guys pulled it off.”

Robinson apologized to Michigan fans, saying it was the worst game of his career.

“It won’t happen no more. I’m going to be accountable for the rest of the season. I don’t want to feel like this no more. In the 22 years I’ve been living, this is the most disappointed I’ve ever been in myself,” he said.

Robinson finished 13-of-24 passing for 138 yards and also rushed for 90 yards on 26 carries.

“The key to stopping Robinson, the key to stopping such a dynamic player like Denard is everybody has to get to him,” Te’o said. “Denard will start running one way and then totally cut back the other way. Everybody has to get to the ball. You have to really emphasize 11 guys to the ball.”

The victory belonged to the Irish defenders, who held an opponent without a touchdown for a second straight week. Many fans at just the second night game in 22 years at Notre Dame Stadium wore leis to show support for Te’o, a Hawaiian whose girlfriend and grandmother recently died. He finished with eight tackles.

“I can’t thank the students and just the fan base around the world, Notre Dame and non-Notre Dame fans. They’ve been really great,” Te’o said.

Notre Dame ran out the clock after a 31-yard Brendan Gibbons field goal with 3:27 left in the game cut Notre Dame’s lead to 13-6. Rees, who came in for an ineffective Everett Golson midway through the second quarter, connected with Tyler Eifert on a 38-yard pass down the sideline on a critical third down. Then an 8-yard run by Theo Riddick on third-and-8 with a minute left salted the game away.

“It’s a great feeling any time you can beat Michigan,” Rees said. “It’s a great environment … a lot of fun.”

Twice, Notre Dame held Michigan without points from the Irish 10-yard line. Michigan coach Brady Hoke said he never considered pulling Robinson.

“The guy has done a pretty dog gone good job being a quarterback at Michigan and made some good throws in the first half. You know, just better decision making and move forward. What are you going to do, sit there and talk about each one of them? You’ve got to move forward,” Hoke said.

Te’o said it felt great to finally beat Michigan and Robinson.

“He’s gotten me the past two years and Michigan has gotten me three years total. I am just glad on my last hurrah I finally have something to celebrate about,” he said.

EVANSTON—Northwestern completed the nonconference portion of its schedule with a perfect 4-0 mark Saturday by knocking off South Dakota, 38-7, at Ryan Field. The Wildcats did most of their damage on offense with the ground game, posting five rushing touchdowns and finishing with 277 yards on the ground.The five rushing scores were the most by a Northwestern team since Sept. 5, 2009, against Towson. Junior Venric Mark went over 100 yards on the ground for the second time this season, racking up 117 yards to go along with a career-best three touchdowns. Northwestern has now had an individual reach the 100-yard rushing plateau in three straight games, the longest such streak for NU since early in the 2007 season.Northwestern quarterbacks supported the cause by completing 12-of-15 passing attempts for 131 yards, keeping NU without an interception for the fourth time in four games this season.A 47-yard rush by Mark on the second play from scrimmage set the tone for the Wildcats, putting Northwestern down to the South Dakota 26-yard line. Mark would have the honor of finishing off the drive seven plays later with a 3-yard dive into the end zone for his second rushing score of the year.After a quick three-and-out by the Coyotes, Northwestern again found itself within scoring range thanks to a 42-yard catch-and-run from Trevor Siemian to Tony Jones. On the next play, Siemian handed off to senior Tyris Jones for a 5-yard rush to put the Wildcats ahead by two touchdowns midway through the period.South Dakota moved the ball as far as the NU 29-yard line on its next possession, but turned the ball over on downs after a fourth-and-15 stop by the Wildcats defense. Two possessions later, Northwestern took over with good field position after a short 17-yard punt by South Dakota. A dynamic 24-yard scamper by Kain Colter brought NU inside Coyote territory, and once again Mark moved the pile from six yards out to put the hosts ahead, 21-0.NU regained possession after an errant snap by the Coyotes was recovered by Brian Arnfelt, Arnfelt’s first fumble recovery this year to go along with two forced fumbles. Siemian directed the NU offense for the 28 yards to the end zone, ultimately handing off to Mark for his third score of the day.Northwestern’s fifth touchdown of the afternoon came on NU’s opening drive of the second half when sophomore Treyvon Green broke off a career-long 33-yard run up the middle of the line, capping a quick 71-yard Wildcats drive.Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats kept the action on the through the second half, eating up over nine minutes of clock time with a fourth-quarter drive that culminated in a 39-yard field goal by Steve Flaherty.Also on special teams, junior punter Brandon Williams shined with his 56.7-yard punting average on three attempts, including a 61-yarder that pinned the Coyotes on their own 1-yard line.Northwestern takes its undefeated record into Big Ten play next week, hosting Indiana at 11 a.m. Saturday in its 2012 conference-opener.