EVANSTON—Ailing head coach Jerry Kill watched from the coaches’ box as Minnesota turned two second half turnovers into scores en route to a 20-17 Big Ten victory over Northwestern Saturday afternoon.The Gophers (5-2, 1-2) snapped a two-game losing streak as James Manuel broke a 7-7 tie with a 24-yard third quarter interception return and Chris Hawthorne turned another Wildcat turnover into a 34-yard field goal in the fourth.Host Northwestern (4-3, 0-3) dropped its third straight.Kill, on indefinite leave after a series of epileptic seizures, watched Manuel picked off Wildcat quarterback Trevor Siemian with 1:22 for a go-ahead score. The Gophers made it 17-7 just 87 seconds later on Hawthorne’s field goal after recovering a Wildcat fumble.Hawthorne’s 38-yard field goal with 5:24 remaining made it 20-10. Northwestern cut the deficit to 20-17 on a 10-yard touchdown strike from Siemian to Tony Jones with 2:07 remaining.

CHAMPAIGN—Wisconsin lost defensive leader Chris Borland to injury early on Saturday and even with an early three-touchdown lead struggled to put Illinois away.So the No. 25 Badgers put the game in Melvin Gordon’s hands and he delivered.Gordon rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 25 Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) to a 56-32 rout of Illinois. James White backed him up with another 98 yards in 20 carries and two touchdowns.

”The offense was very powerful tonight,” Badgers coach Gary Andersen said. ”They ran the ball extremely well.”

Gordon, who has 1,012 yards for the season, said the Badgers’ 21-0 first quarter lead was a key to the game.

”That momentum at the beginning was important,” Gordon said. ”We knew we had to come out fast, especially on the road. They tried to take it from us but we took right back.”

Illinois coach Tim Beckman said defense was a problem for the Illini (3-3, 0-2) , but so was a running game that managed just 72 yards on 29 carries against one of the top run defenses in the country.

”When you play against a team like that, you’ve got to be clocking on all cylinders,” he said. ”Defensively, we didn’t tackle well in space.”

Borland, the team’s leading tackler, said he hurt his right hamstring covering a punt in the first quarter. He never returned, watching much of the second half in street clothes.

”I just couldn’t play,” he said. ”It’s going to be OK, they’ve already started to take care of it.”

Andersen said he expects him back soon but is glad to have a bye week coming to give the linebacker time to heal.Gordon went over the 1,000-yard mark on a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that put the Badgers up 42-17. It capped the second of two bruising, third-quarter drives that put Illinois away. White finished the first with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Joel Stave.Before the drives, Illinois had found ways to claw back from an early 21-0 deficit and trailed 28-17 at halftime.On a day when Michigan and Indiana combined for 1,319 yards of offense and 110 points, the decisive Badger drives looked like old-time Big Ten football – using tough backs, smart running and short passes to put a lesser opponent away and stay close to Ohio State in the Big Ten Leaders division.White took a short toss from Stave for his touchdown, lunging hard through a tackle to tuck the ball over the goal line. The touchdown ended a nine-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up just over five minutes and put Illinois on its heels.Gordon’s score wrapped up a five-play, 56-yard drive as he took the handoff and charged into the line, saw nothing there and used his speed to bounce outside and easily cover the 13 yards that put the Badgers up by 25 at 42-17.Illinois was all but done and on its way to its 16th straight Big Ten loss.Borland’s absence didn’t improve Illinois’ ability to run. The Badgers entered the game as the 10th-best run defense in the country, giving up 90.1 yards a game. Josh Ferguson led Illinois with just 25 yards on seven carries. Borland’s backup, Marcus Trotter, made the most of his shot with a team-high nine tackles.Illinois’ offense revolved around quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, who had 249 yards passing. Steve Hull caught six passes for 105 yards.After Wisconsin breezed to its 21-0 first quarter lead, Illinois spent the rest of the night trying to catch up.Gordon’s first-quarter touchdown covered 26 yards and showed off his speed. He ran into a small gap on the left side of the Illini line and, with speed that seemed to surprise the Illinois defense, quickly cut past what briefly looked like a potential tackler and sped into the end zone. With 6:03 left in the first quarter, Wisconsin led 14-0.Illinois tried a reverse to open its next possession, but Scheelhaase couldn’t handle backup quarterback Aaron Bailey’s pitch, bobbling it before it dropped to the ground. Wisconsin defensive end Ethan Hemer recovered the ball at the Illini 8.Three plays later, Stave hit tight end Brian Wozniak a yard deep in the end zone for an easy score.

MOUNT PLEASANT—Northern Illinois‘ Jordan Lynch always is a rushing threat, though he never had a day like this. Lynch rushed for 316 yards, an FBS record for a quarterback, and the 23rd-ranked Huskies stayed unbeaten with a 38-17 victory at Central Michigan on Saturday. Lynch had three rushing touchdowns and was 20 for 30 through the air for 155 yards and another score to help Northern Illinois (7-0, 3-0 Mid-American) extend the nation’s best conference winning streak to 20 games. He broke the rushing record held by former Northern Illinois quarterback Stacey Robinson, who had 308 against Fresno State on Oct. 6, 1990.

“The holes were so wide open; it was nothing I did,” he said.

Lynch had 232 rushing yards — 25 more than his previous single-game high — and two touchdowns in the second half and added a long run while missing a shoe. Several long runs came on plays up the middle of the field. The performance came a week after he became the 10th player in FBS history to run for more than 3,000 career yards and pass for more than 4,000 in a win over visiting Akron. NIU outscored Central Michigan 17-3 in the second half to extend its road winning streak to 13 games, second only to No. 2 Oregon’s 18 straight. The Huskies have won 28 of their last 30 games.

“You take what they give you,” Huskies coach Rod Carey said. “Today they made us run it, so we did.”

While Lynch was leading the offense with his feet, the Huskies’ defense kept the Chippewas (3-5, 2-2) in check throughout the second half. Northern Illinois, which earned a BCS bowl berth last season, held its hosts to just six first downs and 97 total yards after the break. It finished the game with two takeaways. The teams went to halftime tied at 14 and Tyler Wedel gave the Huskies the lead for good early in the third with a 34-yard field goal. Lynch added his second touchdown, a 1-yard sneak, later in the period to stretch the lead to double digits. Central Michigan cut the lead to 24-17 after Ron Coluzzi’s 38-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter but Lynch and Cameron Stingily answered with scoring runs of 3 and 19 yards to put the game away. Cooper Rush completed 16 of his 22 attempts for 271 yards and two touchdowns for the Chippewas, who had a two-game winning streak end. Titus Davis caught five passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.Lynch sandwiched a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tommylee Lewis between two Rush scoring passes, then knotted the score with his first touchdown run, a 4-yarder midway through the second quarter. Northern Illinois was deep in Central Michigan territory in the final minutes of the half but Justin Cherocci intercepted a tipped pass to keep the game tied. The road win was the Huskies’ fifth this season.

Bryan Bickell waited patiently as he skated in front of the net, and then slammed it home when he saw a small opening. And just like that, the drought was over.Bickell sparked the Hawks big second period with his first goal of the season, helping the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 on Saturday night.

“That one was a nice one,” said Bickell, who yelled in celebration as his teammates skated over to congratulate the rugged forward. “It’s nice to get that first one. A full team game was huge.”

Brandon Pirri added a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who have won four of five. Michael Kostka scored his first career goal against his former team, and Corey Crawford had 19 saves.Toronto center Dave Bolland was kept off the scoresheet in his first game in Chicago since he was traded to his hometown Maple Leafs in June. Bolland helped the Blackhawks win two Stanley Cups in the previous four seasons and received a warm welcome from the sellout crowd.

“It’s always fun to come back here, but as a team as a whole, don’t think it was a great performance for us,” he said.

Nazem Kadri scored his third goal for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped two in a row. Jonathan Bernier made 37 saves.Bernier failed to grab a stopped shot in the second, and Bickell made the most of the opportunity. He skated around a prone Bernier before stuffing it into the net to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 5:32.It was just the second point on the season for the 6-foot-4 Bickell, who is being counted on for more scoring after he got a big new contract during the summer. He began the season on the Hawks top line, but looks more at home in his spot lower in the lineup.

“It was a big summer coming into this year,” he said. “I felt it was a lot of pressure to be on my shoulders to produce, and I think I was getting away from the game what I did before that worked.

“Now we switched it up and hopefully I can get my confidence back and just figure out my game.”

Toronto tied it at 1 when Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya was unable to handle a loose puck and Joffrey Lupul made a slick pass to Kadri for the power-play score. But the Blackhawks turned up the pressure from there.Kostka’s shot at 10:28 went off a screened Bernier and into the net in his second game with the Hawks. The defenseman played 35 games for the Maple Leafs last season in his first year in the NHL. Pirri then got a terrific pass from Brandon Saad and directed it past Bernier to make 3-1 with 3:11 remaining in the second. Pirri scored his first career goal in the previous game, a 3-2 shootout loss to St. Louis on Thursday.

“Playing with great players here, it makes your life easy,” Pirri said.

Toronto had a chance to get back in the game in the third, but it failed to convert two power plays and went 1 for 5 with the man advantage for the game.

“They play a pretty high-tempo game and we didn’t seem to be able to keep the pace up until the third period,” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. “Then we got desperate and we started to play a lot more of a skating game and do a few things that we should be doing for 60 minutes versus 20 minutes.”

Bolland was drafted in 2004 and played for the Blackhawks for parts of seven seasons, growing into one of the NHL’s biggest pests and gaining a reputation for his penchant for big goals. Bolland had three goals and three assists when the Hawsks beat Philadelphia in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 2010. But his biggest play with the Blackhawks happened in his last game with the team, a memorable rebound goal at Boston that clinched another NHL title last summer.Bolland said before the game he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he would get from the crowd, but he was welcomed with a hearty round of applause when he was introduced for the ceremonial puck drop. The Blackhawks then paid tribute to the 27-year-old center with a video presentation during a break in the first period, and the crowd of 21,801 responded with a standing ovation.Bolland stood in front of the Maple Leafs’ bench and waved as the fans cheered. He managed to keep a straight face, but seemed moved by the response.

“It was great,” he said. “I was here for a while before and it was always a great organization and great fans. They were always great to me.”

NOTES—Leafs F James van Riemsdyk was back in the lineup after missing two straight games with back spasms. … The Blackhawks wore white warm-up jerseys with lavender lettering as part of “Hockey Fights Cancer Night,” and the coaches wore lavender ties. All the jerseys and ties will be autographed for an online auction benefiting the team’s charity organization and local cancer awareness organizations … Fs Trevor Smith, Carter Ashton and David Clarkson were scratched for the Maple Leafs. … Ds Sheldon Brookbank and Michal Rozsival and F Ben Smith were scratched for the Blackhawks.

Derrick Rose scored 32 points, including eight in the final three minutes, and Luol Deng added 22 as the Bulls remained unbeaten this preseason with a 103-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Rose, who played 31 minutes, also had nine assists and was 9 for 15 from the field, including 4 for 7 from 3-point range, as the Bulls improved to 5-0. Paul George led the Pacers (0-5) with 22 points. The Bulls were without Jimmy Butler (left knee contusion) and Joakim Noah (right groin strain). Noah will be shut down for a week in hopes that the rest will clear up the injury that has bothered him since early in training camp. The schedule said it was a preseason game, but the atmosphere in the United Center definitely had a regular-season feel as the teams expected to compete for the Central Division title battled down the stretch. Both teams finished with mostly starters on the court, which usually isn’t the norm in the preseason. Rose appeared done for the night when he went to the bench late in the third quarter after playing 26 minutes. He had averaged 21.8 points in three previous games as he returns after missing last season following major knee surgery. But he returned with just over 5 minutes left and led the Bulls to victory as the crowd of 21,783 cheered as if it were a playoff game.

T.J. Oshie scored the lone goal in the shootout, Jaroslav Halak stopped all three Blackhawk shooters in the shootout and the St. Louis Blues defeated the Hawks 3-2 on Thursday night.The Hawks took leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but gave those leads away each time less than a minute later. David Backes scored a power-play goal for St. Louis, while Alexander Steen was credited with an even-strength score in regulation in the Blues’ first road game.Marian Hossa scored on a breakaway and set up Brandon Pirri’s first NHL goal in regulation. All but one of the Blackhawks’ (4-1-2) first seven games have been decided by one goal.The Blues (5-1-0) started the season with five straight home games, and won the first four before losing 6-2 to San Jose on Tuesday.Corey Crawford made 26 saves and Halak had 27.

Thur Night
Seattle over ARIZONA

Sunday
ATLANTA over Tampa Bay
Dallas over PHILADELPHIA
CAROLINA over St.Louis
NEW YORK JETS over New England
MIAMI over Buffalo
San Diego over JACKSONVILLE
KANSAS CITY over over Houston
PITTSBURGH over Baltimore
San Francisco over TENNESSEE

Sunday Night
INDIANAPOLIS over Denver

NFC NORTH Games
Cincinnati over DETROIT
GREEN BAY over Cleveland
NEW YORK GIANTS over Minnesota(Mon Night)
WASHINGTON over Bears

Home Teams in all CAPS.

Last week 9-6, total for season 62-30

Good as new: Derrick Rose delights the United Center crowd with 22 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. (USATSI)

Derrick Rose scored 22 points in his long-awaited return to the United Center to lead the Bulls to a 96-81 preseason victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.The way Rose was dominating, it was hard to believe nearly 18 months had passed since he suited up for a game in this arena. The explosiveness was back after he spent last season recovering from knee surgery, and when he wasn’t finishing drives, the former MVP was hitting his free throws.He got a thunderous ovation during the pregame introductions and proceeded to put on a show, scoring 18 in the first half. He had the crowd chanting ”MVP! MVP!” at the end of the second quarter after he froze Peyton Siva with a wicked crossover and flipped the ball in off the glass with his body contorted before burying the free throw to complete the three-point play. Rose hit 6 of 9 shots and was 9 for 10 on free throws over 22 minutes after missing the previous game against Washington in Rio de Janeiro because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.Carlos Boozer added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim Noah had two points and eight rebounds after missing the first three preseason games because of a strained right groin.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 18 points, but this night was all about Rose.He hadn’t played at the United Center since April 28, 2012, when the Bulls’ worst nightmare unfolded near the end of a playoff-opening victory over Philadelphia. There was Rose coming to a jump stop and crumbling to the floor with about 1:20 left in a game that was out of reach, a torn anterior cruciate ligament ending his season and sending the top-seeded Bulls to a first-round exit.His recovery became a running soap opera last season, and it only escalated after he returned to practice in midseason.Should he return? Should he sit out the season? Rose and the Bulls never publicly ruled out a return, so the debate raged on. His image took a hit in some corners as the Bulls clawed their way through injuries and illnesses on the way to 45 wins and a second-round playoff exit, but none of that seemed to matter on Wednesday.When PA announcer Tommy Edwards bellowed before the game, ”From Chicago! No. 1, Derrick Rose!” a deafening roar echoed through the arena. There was a loud cheer when Rose caught an outlet pass from Boozer after a miss by Detroit’s Andre Drummond on the game’s first shot, and they were screaming again moments later when Rose scored off a feed from Noah. He added a neat layup, pumping in midair and drawing a few ”oohs” and ”ahs” from the crowd,” and scored eight points before heading to the sideline with 3:59 left in the first quarter.

NOTES—The Bulls next Pre Season Game is Friday night with the Indiana Pacers at the U.C…..Jimmy Butler sat out with tendinitis.

RALEIGH—Patrick Sharp scored in the shootout and the Blackhawks claimed the 2,500th victory in club history by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Tuesday night.Sharp and Marian Hossa also scored 2:22 apart in the first period for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who blew a 2-0 lead in the third before winning in the tiebreaker.Corey Crawford finished with 32 saves, then stopped three Carolina shooters in the shootout. After Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews came up empty, Sharp beat Cam Ward with a nifty forehand in the third round.Crawford then stuffed Jeff Skinner to end it, making the Blackhawks the last of the Original Six to reach the 2,500-win mark.Alexander Semin and Ron Hainsey scored during Carolina’s third-period rally.Ward stopped 34 shots for Carolina, which wrapped up a winless three-game homestand against Western Conference teams but managed to earn two points during that stretch.The Blackhawks appeared well on their way to an easy victory when they took a two-goal lead into the third.Semin started Carolina’s comeback with 16:06 left when he whipped in a rebound of Eric Staal’s shot. Hainsey then tied it with 7:27 left when his blast from the blue line went through traffic – and between defenseman Michal Roszival’s legs – on its way past Crawford.But that was the last puck to get past the Hawk goalie.The Blackhawks, who entered having scored more than two goals only once since the opener, scored twice in the opening minutes.Sharp – the MVP of the All-Star game when it was played here in 2011 – struck first with 12:04 left. He beat defenseman Brett Bellemore to the puck to create a breakaway chance, then beat Ward to his weak spot – high to his glove side – for his first goal.Hossa made it 2-0 with 9:42 left, 3 seconds after a holding penalty to Staal expired. The Hurricanes whiffed on a clearing attempt and Hossa backhanded the puck past Ward’s stick from between the circles.Thw Hawks lead could have been even bigger had Ward not stopped a pair of Blackhawks from point-blank range just before time expired in the second.

NOTES—Three of Carolina’s five home games have been tied at the end of regulation. … The Hurricanes are 0-2 in shootouts while Hawks improved to 1-1. … Sharp’s goal was the 200th of his career. … Hainsey’s goal was his first since March 12, 2011, when he was with Atlanta. … Carolina fell to 7-2-1 against defending Cup champions since the start of the 2009-10 season. … The teams met for the first time since Oct. 28, 2011.

The Blackhawks dominated much of Saturday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. When they got into a bit of trouble at the end, Corey Crawford was there to carry them to the finish. Crawford made 28 saves to lead the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the winless Sabres.Ben Smith and Patrick Kane scored for the Blackhawks, who swept a pair of weekend home games, edging the Islanders 3-2 on Friday. Drew Stafford connected with 8:11 left in the third, spoiling Crawford’s bid for a shutout. The Sabres (0-5-1) put together several tough challenges in the second and third periods after a slow start.

“It’s never an easy game,” Crawford said. “They kind of hung around there.Their goalie kept them in it, made some big stops. And they gave us a test there at the end.”

Ryan Miller had 38 saves for Buffalo, which has been outscored 16-6 in its worst start since 1999-2000, when it was 0-5-2. Miller’s performance kept the Sabres in the game, but the Blackhawks were in position for a bigger night on offense.

“The finish, what it takes to score in this league, maybe we need to be a little greasier around the net,” Joel Quenneville said. “Hang around, put it in the back of the net.We’ve missed the net, which is our biggest problem scoring goals right now. The second chances are the ones that go in in our league.”

The Blackhawks outshot the Sabres 20-6 in the first period, but only had a 1-0 lead at intermission. The Hawks puck possession and territory dominance was aided by three power plays. But Smith’s even-strength tip-in for his first goal of the season at 9:26 was the only score.Brent Seabrook wristed a shot from just inside the blue line at the top of the slot. Smith, one of four players parked in front of the net, then deflected the puck over Miller’s glove.Despite continued pressure in the second period, the Blackhawks didn’t get their second goal until Kane’s power-play score with 24.9 seconds left. Kane was open low in the right circle, and whipped Patrick Sharp’s cross-ice feed past Miller before he could slide across the crease.The Blackhawks had plenty of chances early on. A quick reaction by Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers prevented what appeared to be a sure goal. Miller got a piece of a close-in shot by Marian Hossa, but the puck continued toward the upper left corner of the net. Myers swatted the puck out of midair with his stick before it crossed the goal line. The Sabres finally began to test Crawford in the second with a flurry and several prime chances, but he stopped them all. His best stop came on a point-blank attempt by Steve Ott with 6:50 left in the period.Stafford’s goal completed a 3-on-2 rush. After taking Cody Hodgson’s quick pass, Stafford slid a low shot past Crawford from the left circle.The Sabres outshot the Hawsks 13-3 in the third and tested Crawford in the final minutes. Crawford stopped Thomas Vanek’s slap shot and then Hodgson’s point-blank rebound attempt with just over four minutes left to preserve the lead.

NOTES—Brandon Pirri made his season debut following his recall from Rockford of the AHL. Pirri led the AHL in scoring last year with 75 points in 76 games. … Veteran Blackhawks C Michal Handzus, who had the winning goal in the victory over the Islanders, got the night off. … Sharp played in his 600th NHL game.