DeKALB—Jordan Lynch ran for a pair of first-half touchdowns and threw two scoring passes in the second half as Northern Illinois rolled to a 45-3 victory over Buffalo on Saturday.It was a happy Homecoming at Huskie StadiuNorthern Illinois (6-1, 3-0 Mid-American) got 129 yards on the ground from Lynch, and he completed 13 of 20 passes for 232 yards. Martel Moore caught 8 passes for 133 yards and a TD.Buffalo (1-5, 0-3) was pressured by the NIU defense most of the day. Northern intercepted Alex Zordich on two occasions and sacked him twice.Devon Hughes caught 9 passes for 105 yards for Buffalo.

MINNEAPOLIS—Venric Mark rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns to carry Northwestern to a 21-13 victory over Minnesota on Saturday.Mark wasn’t touched on scoring runs of 26 and 48 yards and the Wildcats (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) overcame 11 penalties to become bowl eligible and spoil Minnesota’s homecoming celebration.MarQueis Gray rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown after missing the previous two games with knee and ankle injuries. But he also threw an interception and was injured again late in the third quarter for the Golden Gophers (4-2, 0-2).The Gophers had a chance for a tying touchdown late, but Northwestern’s defense stiffened at the 6-yard line to keep them out of the end zone. Cornerback Nick VanHoose made the key play on the stand, batting a pass away from A.J. Barker in the end zone to save a touchdown.Less than 10 seconds into the game, NU was already up 7-0. Gophers linebacker Lamonte Edwards, a converted running back, botched the opening kickoff and C.J. Bryant pounced on it to give the Cats the ball at Minnesota’s 26-yard line.Mark took the handoff, burst through the line and saw nothing but daylight, racing 26 yards untouched for the score.That would be a common theme throughout the first half. Mark added a 48-yard scoring run in the second quarter, a burst through the middle where nary a finger was laid on him. He also had runs of 47 and 25 yards in the first half to help the Wildcats take a 21-10 lead. Mark’s big day on the ground eliminated any need for Northwestern’s passing game, and that was a good thing for the Wildcats. Kain Colter was 10 for 10, but for just 63 yards. And Trevor Siemian, the passing specialist in the Wildcats’ two-quarterback system, was 1 for 7 for 4 yards.Mark’s big 48-yard TD helped neutralize a brief bit of momentum for the Gophers.When Max Shortell went out with an injured left hand late in the first quarter, Gray ripped off a 25-yard touchdown run at the start of the second to pull Minnesota to 14-10.But David Nwabuisi made an acrobatic, one-handed interception off of a pass tipped by Quentin Williams to stall the Gophers. Mark was off to the races two plays later, and the Wildcats were on their way to a rebound victory after losing at Penn State last week.It was another disappointing effort for the Gophers, who were starting to create some optimism on campus with a 4-0 start to the season. But a 31-13 thumping at Iowa two weeks ago brought them back down to earth, and they followed that up with a sloppy, mistake-prone performance coming out of their bye.They fumbled the ball seven times, losing two, and committed nine penalties.The turnovers were compounded by three bad snaps from center Zac Epping and some curious play-calling that stunted several drives. After calling time out and pulling their offense off the field on fourth-and-11 from Northwestern’s 36, they ran kicker Jordan Wettstein out for a 53-yard field-goal try. The Wildcats weren’t buying it from the start, and a fake run was thwarted easily to turn the ball over.On third-and-13 from the Northwestern 46, they called a draw to Donnell Kirkwood that gained just 5 yards. And with no timeouts and the ball at their own 49 with just over a minute to play in the first half, the Gophers called a draw to Gray that went nowhere and took any chance of a late score out of the equation.

CHAMPAIGN—Dion Waiters scored 18 points while Anderson Varejao added eight points and nine rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Bulls 86-83 in an exhibition game at the Assembly Hall on Friday night.The Cavaliers took the lead 16-15 at the end of the first quarter and never gave it up.Trailing 50-29 at the half, the Bulls opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run. The Bulls outscored the Cavaliers 32-13 in the quarter, closing the gap to 63-61.The Bulls of course without Derrick Rose, recovering from surgery on his torn ACL during the 2012 playoffs.Tyler Zeller scored 10 points for the Cavaliers, while Omri Casspi, C.J. Miles and Luke Harangody got nine each. Kirk Hinrich scored 14 points, had eight assists and grabbed four rebounds for the Bulls who are at Minnesota Saturday night.

Luol Deng scored 18 points while Nazr Mohammed added 13 points and 12 rebounds to help the Bulls take their first Pre Season game over the Memphis Grizzlies 92-88 at the United Center Tuesday night. Trailing 52-49 at half, the Bulls scored the first 14 points in the third quarter to pull away. Richard Hamilton made a jumper to give the Bulls a 63-52 lead and Nate Robinson made a 3 in the corner to extend the lead to 81-65 late in the third quarter. Hamilton scored eight points in the third quarter and finished with 13.The Bulls or course are without Derrick Rose, who is still recovering from knee surgery, stemming from his torn ACL during the 2012 playoffs.Jerome Jordan led the Grizzlies (1-1) with 13 points and Ronald Murray added 11 points.

The Bulls play the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Assembly Hall in Champaign  Friday night, then are at Minnesota Saturday evening.

Lance Briggs and the Bears’ defense yield just three points and finish with two defensive TDs, two picks and three sacks. (US Presswire)

JACKSONVILLE—Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs have scored more touchdowns than Matt Forte this season.And the Bears aren’t complaining.Tillman and Briggs returned interceptions for touchdowns — their second in six days — and the Bears used stifling defense to overwhelm the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-3 Sunday. Tillman and Briggs became the first teammates in NFL history to return interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive weeks.

“This one was an easier catch,” Tillman said. “Last week, it was, `Is he really throwing me the ball?’ This week was normal. This one was easier. It came at a good time. We needed a lift, and that score got us rolling to the point the offense started putting up points after that.”

The Bears (4-1) scored 38 unanswered points, including 35 in the second half, to win their third consecutive game.The streak has everything to do with defense. The Bears have returned five interceptions for touchdowns in those games.Tillman and Briggs returned two of the team’s five INTs for scores in Monday night’s 34-18 victory at Dallas. Major Wright returned one the previous week against St. Louis.Tillman’s second of the season — a 36-yarder in the third quarter — proved to be the decisive play in a game that saw as many punts (six) as points in the first half.What prompted the Bears turnaround? Players credited coach Lovie Smith’s halftime message.

“He basically cursed us out without cursing,” Tillman said. “He raised his voice and gave us that mean, surly, stern look and we responded to that. He put a little spark in our rear end. We started getting to the quarterback in the second half. We were a little flat in the first half and came out with a sense of urgency.”

The Bears finished with 501 yards of offense, 309 in the second half, and held Jacksonville to 45 yards after the break. The Jaguars ran just four plays in the third quarter.

“It’s been the same thing for five years,” Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “Obviously, we’re not working hard enough. I don’t know. We’re just not playing well right now. We have to figure something out. No one here is going to save us. It’s the guys in this locker room. There’s no one we can bring in to help. We got to look man to man at each other and figure out what we’re going to do.”

The Jaguars (1-4) never recovered from Tillman’s touchdown and played the final quarter amid a chorus of boos. Jacksonville now heads into its bye week with serious questions about what direction the team is headed under general manager Gene Smith, quarterback Blaine Gabbert and maybe even first-year coach Mike Mularkey.With Smith assembling the roster, the Jaguars have lost 18 of their last 24 games.They have been downright pathetic in three home games this season. They managed 117 yards in the home opener against Houston, 212 last week against Cincinnati and 189 Sunday.

“I can talk up here all night about what we did, but that’s not going to cure anything,” Gabbert said. “We’ve got to come out in the second half and play better football. It starts with me. When you throw two Pick 6’s in a half, that’s awful. I’ve got to find a way to fix that and get this offense going a little bit.”

Gabbert completed 17 of 33 passes for 142 yards, with the two interceptions. The Bears stacked the line of scrimmage, clearly wanting to shut down Jones-Drew. It worked, as Jones-Drew finished with 56 yards on 12 carries.Following Tillman’s score, the Jaguars allowed consecutive scoring drives after playing stout defense in the first half.Jay Cutler hooked up with rookie Alshon Jeffery for a 10-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter and found Brandon Marshall for a 24-yarder with 8:37 remaining in the game.Briggs’ score came after that, a 36-yard return that made it 34-3.

“The defense put up some points again,” Cutler said. “We’re never really out of a game with those guys on defense. They play such good football. They hold teams to few yards and a lot of punts.”

Cutler completed 23 of 39 passes for 292 yards, with two TDs and an interception before giving way to backup Jason Campbell.Marshall caught 12 passes for 144 yards. Forte, who has one touchdown this season, ran 22 times for 107 yards.Few outsiders gave the Jaguars a chance before the game. The only thing that seemingly was in Jacksonville’s favor was catching the Bears on a short week. The Bears got home from Dallas early Tuesday and were back on a plane Saturday.That may have contributed to Chicago’s slow start. But it mattered little in the second half – thanks mostly to the interceptions.

“I know they know how important it is to take the ball away,” Smith said. “There is an emphasis on it. And after a while, you see one guy doing it, you want to join in on that action. It’s discouraging to the offense. We normally win when we score one time, and it’s probably safe to say we haven’t lost when we score a couple times on the defensive side.”

NOTES—Tillman became the franchise’s all-time leader in defensive touchdowns with eight,passing up Mike Brown…..Jeffery left the game with a hand injury.
Jaguars PK Josh Scobee tied Mike Hollis for the most FGs (175) in franchise history…..Jones-Drew became the third player in team history to eclipse 12,000 all-purpose yards, joining Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith….The Bears have their Bye next weekend, then have a Monday night home game with Detroit.

Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III gave Notre Dame its first 100-yard rushing duo in a decade, and Everett Golson came off the bench to lead the No. 9 Irish to a 41-3 victory over Miami on Saturday night in what was a very tame sequel to the famed “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry.And this one was at Soldier Field,where the Irish last played(against Northwestern)in 1994. Wood rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Atkinson added 123 yards and another score. Golson, who sat the first series as punishment for violating team rules, completed his first six passes and finished 17 of 22 as Notre Dame improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2002.The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Miami, which was held to just 285 yards after piling up 1,260 yards and 86 points in its previous two games. The Hurricanes (4-2) were hurt by at least a half-dozen drops by their receivers, including two certain touchdowns by Phillip Dorsett on Miami’s very first drive. Miami’s only points came on Jake Wieclaw’s 28-yard field goal in the first quarter.Back in the 1980s, Notre Dame-Miami was perhaps the nastiest, most hotly contested rivalry in college football. Most entertaining, too.Both teams were ranked in the top 10 when they met in 1987, `88, `89 and `90, and from 1987 through 1989 the winner went on to win the national title. The teams didn’t like each other, either, and made no secret of it. Police actually had to be called in to break up a pushing and shoving match as the teams were leaving the field after pregame warmups at Notre Dame Stadium in 1988.In a video posted on Notre Dame’s website, former Irish coach Lou Holtz said he urged his team to avoid any on-field incidents against Miami.

“After we win the game, if Miami wants to fight, fine, we’ll meet `em in the alley,” Holtz, on the video, recalled saying to his team. “And if they do, you save Jimmy Johnson’s [butt] for me.”

The Irish stormed out of the locker room and beat Miami 31-30. Many still consider it the best home win in Notre Dame history, and it propelled the Irish to their eighth — and most recent — national title.The teams played the next two years before the rivalry was discontinued, with Notre Dame officials feeling “it brought out the worst sides of fans.” (Considering it was Notre Dame fans who came up with the “Catholics vs. Convicts” moniker, it’s hard to argue with them.) It would be 20 years before the teams would meet again, in the 2010 Sun Bowl.But that old chippiness was nowhere to be found at Soldier Field. Most of the Irish and Hurricanes weren’t even born in 1988, and it’s hard to nurse a grudge when the history is so ancient.Hard when the game is such a mismatch, too.Miami should have been up 7-0 after its first series, but Dorsett dropped two surefire touchdowns, the second going through his hands on the goal line. Instead of making the Irish play catch-up, the Hurricanes were forced to punt.Then, after chasing Tommy Rees off the field in three plays, the Hurricanes gave them a second chance when Gabriel Terry was called for roughing the kicker. Golson replaced Rees and, six plays later rushed for what looked like a touchdown. He was ruled down at the 1 upon review, but Theo Riddick scored on the next play and Notre Dame was off and running.After a missed field goal just before halftime left the Irish with a slim 13-3 lead, they broke the game open on the first series of the second half. Taking off from the Miami 39, Wood ripped off a long run up the right sideline that looked like it was good for a touchdown. But reviews showed he stepped out at the 2. No matter. He rumbled right up the middle on the next play to give Notre Dame a 20-3 lead with just under 12 minutes left in the third.The Irish chewed up 86 yards, all on the ground, on their next drive, capping it with a 3-yard run by Wood. That gave Notre Dame a 27-3 lead, and the game was all but out of reach.

MADISON—Joel Stave threw two touchdown passes and Wisconsin’s running game showed signs of life as the Badgers defeated Illinois 31-14 on Saturday.Stave threw for 254 yards for the Badgers (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who rushed for 173 yards – 96 in the fourth quarter.The offensive struggles of the Illini (2-4, 0-2) continued, with quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase the only positive. He finished with 178 yards passing and 84 rushing as Illinois gained 287 yards overall.Scheelhaase ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter and threw for an 8-yard touchdown to Ryan Lankford to make it 24-14 late in the game.But Jared Abbrederis fielded the ensuing onside kick, and Montee Ball scored his second touchdown of the game to snuff any hopes of an Illinois comeback. Ball has 59 rushing TDs in his career, nine shy of the NCAA record. He finished with 19 carries for 116 yards.Abbrederis caught Stave’s 59-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that put Wisconsin up 24-7 and gave him his third consecutive game with more than 100 receiving yards since returning from an injury. He finished with seven catches for 117 yards.The Badgers capitalized on a pair of Illinois miscues for their other second-half points.With the game tied at 7-7, Stave hit Derek Watt for 26 yards, and Illinois defensive back Terry Hawthorne was called for a personal foul on the hit, putting the ball at the Illinois 33.Following the collision, Hawthorne lay motionless on the field and was put on a stretcher and taken off in an ambulance, giving a thumbs up as he was loaded into the vehicle.The drive ended when Kyle French made a 46-yard field goal.Illinois’ next drive stalled near midfield, and a shanked 10-yard punt by Justin DuVernois gave Wisconsin good field position. James White had a 22-yard run, Stave hit Abbrederis for 15 yards, and Ball ran it in from 9 yards out to put Wisconsin up 17-7.As Wisconsin’s offense has struggled, coach Bret Bielema has gone back and forth between Stave and Danny O’Brien at quarterback. Stave started the game, but Bielema went to a third option at the end of the first quarter, bringing in Curt Phillips.Phillips has had multiple surgeries on his right knee, has thrown just 13 passes in his career and hadn’t played since the 2009 regular season finale at Hawaii. He handed off to end the first quarter, kept the ball for a 2-yard loss to open the second and gave way to Stave on third down.The juggling didn’t work. Stave was picked off, with Steve Hull returning the ball to the Wisconsin 28. Scheelhaase completed a pass for 23 yards to give the Illini first-and-goal at the 5 before running it in on the next play.Stave hit James White for a 62-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

MUNCIE—Jordan Lynch accounted for 402 yards and gave Northern Illinois the lead for good with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Akeem Daniels, and the Huskies defeated Ball State 35-23 on Saturday.Northern Illinois (5-1, 2-0 Mid-American), which has won five straight after a season-opening loss to Iowa, trailed 23-14 after Keith Wenning’s short TD run for the Cardinals (3-3, 1-2) in the third quarter. But Lynch, who ran for 207 yards on 29 carries, scored on a 12-yard run. With 4:58 to play, the TD pass to Daniels made it 28-23 Huskies. Lynch then sealed it with a 71-yard run, his third rushing TD, with 3:03 left.Lynch was 16 of 23 for 195 yards and was not intercepted. Wenning attempted 71 passes for Ball State, completing 42, for 434 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Jamill Smith ran for 146 yards on just 14 attempts for the Cardinals.

STATE COLLEGE—With his team a little stunned after giving up a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien walked up and down the sideline giving players a pep talk.After everything they’ve been through over the past year, these Nittany Lions weren’t going to be denied, even after trailing by 11 going into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matt McGloin had the go-ahead score on a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left, one of three fourth-quarter scores for Penn State, and the Nittany Lions stormed past No. 24 Northwestern 39-28 on Saturday.

“Our staff and myself, we tried to talk to the players and get them going,” O’Brien said. “We felt like we could move the ball.”

The Nittany Lions (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) scored three times in the final 9:49, starting with McGloin’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson on fourth down as the receiver dragged along the back line of the end zone. Michael Zordich had a 2-point conversion run to get Penn State within 28-25 before McGloin’s scramble for a score sent the homecoming weekend crowd into a frenzy.

“Nobody’s down. There’s no quit in that locker room,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the year, but there will be no quit in that locker room.”

The Nittany Lions then stuffed Northwestern’s last-gasp drive after Trevor Siemian’s pass for Kain Colter was tipped away on fourth down. Zordich added a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left to put a punctuation mark on the wild finish.Things looked so good for Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) after Venric Mark’s 75-yard punt return for a touchdown with 50 seconds left in the third quarter demoralized the blue-and-white faithful for a 28-17 lead.Mark also ran for a score and finished with 72 yards on 13 carries.The Wildcats couldn’t get to 6-0 for the first time in 50 years. Even worse for Northwestern, the loss continued a disturbing trend of second-half shortfalls against Penn State. The Wildcats also had halftime leads two of the previous three years before falling to the Nittany Lions.This year, they couldn’t hang on to an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“It was tough,” safety Ibraheim Campbell said about the final 15 minutes. “We’ve just got to find a way to make a play. Guys were out there for a while. The offense was out there the same as us. We’ve just got to find a way to focus in, make a play and get off the field.”

Some of it couldn’t be helped given the way Penn State kept going for it on fourth down, including Robinson’s second touchdown catch of the game. Penn State was an astounding 5 of 6 on fourth-down conversions on the day.

“I didn’t think twice about it,” O’Brien said. “You’ve got to make the touchdown. You’ve got to make the play.”

Adding to his reputation as a bold play-caller, O’Brien then decided to go for two. Zordich rumbled up the middle to get the Nittany Lions within three.It’s certainly a new era for the Penn State offense if nothing else. Under late head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions were known more for the running game and playing for field position.But the defense, with a few tweaks, remains a hallmark in Happy Valley.After bending in the middle of the game against Northwestern’s high-octane spread, Linebacker U. didn’t break in the fourth. Dual-threat quarterback Kain Colter found his running lanes filled with swarming defenders, and defensive backs smothered the receivers.Linebacker Gerald Hodges led the charge with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.McGloin struggled at times, too, but bounced back in the clutch. McGloin directed blockers in front of him as he rolled right but couldn’t find a receiver. So the savvy senior just got into the front corner of the end zone for the touchdown.McGloin finished 35 of 51 passing — setting a school record for completions in a game — for 282 yards and two scores. Zack Zwinak ran for 121 yards and a score on 28 carries.A week after dismantling Indiana for 704 yards of total offense, Northwestern hit a speed bump in Happy Valley. The Wildcats were outgained 443-247 in total offense and 30-14 in first downs.NU was also 4 of 14 on third- and fourth-down plays, while Penn State was 15 of 28.

“That’s a recipe for disaster. We’re on the field way too long. We’re not sustaining drives,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Our recipe is exactly what they did for success. We got beat at our own game.”

Yet they still were in a good spot in the third quarter after Colter had a 10-yard scoring run with 3:12 left before Mark’s terrific punt return touchdown about two minutes later for a 28-17 lead.Colter, who had nearly 300 yards of total offense last week, was held to five carriers for 24 yards and three catches for 17 yards. Robinson finished with nine receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

CLEVELAND—Dan Johnson hit his first three homers of the season and the White Sox added two more in the game as they routed the Cleveland Indians 9-0 on Wednesday night.Gavin Floyd (12-11) gave up three hits over seven innings. He struck out six, one short of getting 145 strikeouts for the fifth straight season despite being on the disabled list twice this year.Johnson hit two two-run homers off David Huff (3-1). His 424-foot shot in the second inning was his first in more than a year. His second made it 7-0 in the fifth, two batters after Paul Konerko hit his 26th of the season.It was Johnson’s fifth career multihomer game and first time he hit three in a game. He’s the first player to hit three in a game against Cleveland since Konerko in July 2009.Dayan Viciedo hit his 25th home run, third in three nights and sixth against Cleveland in the ninth, followed by Johnson’s third.He had not hit a homer since his dramatic pinch-hit shot for Tampa Bay saved the Rays’ 2011 season. His two-out, two-strike solo drive in the ninth inning tied the score at 7 on the final night of the regular season. The Rays had trailed 7-0 and beat the New York Yankees 8-7 in 12 innings to make the playoffs.Cleveland went 3-3 in the final week for interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr., who will be interviewed for the fulltime job on Thursday. Terry Francona, who guided Boston to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, will make his pitch to the Indians on Friday in an effort to get back to managing after being dismissed a year ago when the Red Sox folded and were edged out by Tampa Bay.

“I can’t match Terry’s resume and only control what I can do,” Alomar said before the game. “I am confident I can do the job.”

The Sox went 4-11 down the stretch to place second to Detroit after leading the AL Central by three games on Sept. 18. Robin Ventura’s 85 wins are the most for a first-year White Sox manager since Gene Lamont won 86 in 1992. Lamont is the Tigers’ third-base coach.Before the game, general manager Kenny Williams addressed the discouraging end to an otherwise good season.

“We didn’t win enough games, so we’re going home,” Williams said. “I can’t say enough about these guys for their effort. I can be only so disappointed for not closing this thing out. All we had to do was take care of business on our last road trip. We’d be getting prepared for the playoffs.”You have to play your whole schedule. No excuses and none needed. They literally gave everything they could.”

Floyd allowed only a two-out single by Lonnie Chisenhall in the first until Jason Kipnis lined a one-out single in the sixth. The right-hander is 4-1 the past two years and 8-4 in his career against Cleveland.Hector Gimenez bounced a two-out RBI single up the middle to make it 3-0 in the fifth.Huff gave up nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. Only three runs charged to him were earned. A throwing error by third baseman Chisenhall made the Sox entire four-run fifth unearned.

NOTES—Konerko is due to have left wrist surgery Thursday. … Cleveland RF Shin-Soo Choo extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games with an eighth-inning single. …Adam Dunn did not play, finishing with 222 strikeouts, one shy of the major-league record set by Mark Reynolds with Arizona in 2009. … The Indians’ 110 stolen bases are their most since taking 113 in 2000. … Cleveland scored 667 runs in 2012, down 37 from 2011. … DH Travis Hafner went 1 for 4 and got a standing ovation in his final at-bat of what could have been his last game for Cleveland. The Indians likely will pay the oft-injured 35-year-old a $2.7 million buyout instead of picking up his $13 million option for 2013. … Cleveland’s total home attendance of 1,603,596 was its second-lowest since 1992, not quite 213,000 ahead of 2010.