This time Irish stay undefeated against BC.

CHESTNUT HILL—Alabama’s loss cleared out one of the teams in the way of Notre Dame’s 2012 title hopes. An hour later, the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish avoided one of their peskiest obstacles of years past.Everett Golson ran for a touchdown and threw for two more on Saturday night to help Notre Dame beat Boston College 21-6, giving the Irish a workmanlike victory over a rival that had twice before ended their drive to a national championship.Not this time!

“You can’t come out and worry about another team that lost. You have to be focused on the task at hand,” Notre Dame cornerback Bennett Jackson said. “Wins don’t come easy. Boston College plays us hard every year.”

Taking the field soon after top-ranked Alabama lost to No. 15 Texas A&M, the Fighting Irish (10-0) remained unbeaten and in the hunt for a spot in the BCS title game. And a week after needing triple overtime — and a lot of luck — to get past unheralded Pittsburgh, Notre Dame eased past a BC team hoping that a victory in the rivalry known locally as “The Holy War” would salvage its dismal season.

“A win against Notre Dame — a top-ranked team in the country — would have been great for the whole organization,” BC receiver Alex Amidon said. “It just didn’t happen.”

Golson completed 16 of 24 passes for 200 yards, connecting with Troy Niklas for a 7-yard touchdown at the end of the first half and with John Goodman from 18 yards out early in the second. Manti Te’o grabbed his sixth interception of the season – a school record for a linebacker – to end BC’s last real chance at a comeback with just under 6 minutes left.Chase Rettig completed 27 of 34 passes for 247 yards for BC (2-8), which is off to its worst start since 1989. Amidon caught six passes for 84 yards to break the school’s single-season record for receiving yards.Theo Riddick ran 18 times for 104 yard and caught six passes for 67 more for the Irish, who are 10-0 for the first time since 1993.That was the year BC’s David Gordon kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the final game to beat No. 1 Notre Dame and end its hopes for a perfect season. In 2002, the Irish were unbeaten and No. 4 in the country when unranked Boston College won 14-7 in South Bend to again spoil Notre Dame’s chances at a national championship.

“It’s Notre Dame. Everyone knows them when you’re growing up,” Rettig said. “Everyone says play each game the same, but that doesn’t stand true when you’re playing Notre Dame. It’s an exciting game to get ready for, especially when playing at home. The stadium is packed. They don’t think it’s a rivalry, but we still have that sense.”

But there was no upset this year in the matchup between the only two Catholic schools in the FBS, a game that drew the first sellout crowd of the season on a frigid night in Chestnut Hill.In fact, it wasn’t even as close as Notre Dame’s victory over Pitt, or the four other games the Irish have won by a touchdown or less, keeping them near the top of The Associated Press rankings with an outside chance at a spot in the BCS title game.

“We’re going to worry about winning,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “If people don’t like us winning, there’s nothing we can do.”

Notre Dame entered the day trailing Alabama, Oregon and Kansas State in the AP Top 25; the Irish would probably need either Oregon or Kansas State to fall from the unbeaten in order to squeeze into the top two in the BCS rankings.Kelly said he found out about the Crimson Tide loss when he saw a TV on his way out to the field for the pregame warmups. A wide grin broke out on his face when he was asked if he had talked to his team about the potential shake up in the polls.

“Oh, no,” he said. “Absolutely not. Wouldn’t talk about Alabama.”

Notre Dame scored on its first possession, going 95 yards to make it 7-0 on Golson’s 2-yard run. The Irish fumbled on their second try but then mounted another long drive, going 87 yards on 16 plays and taking a 14-3 lead on Golson’s pass to Niklas with 26 seconds left in the half. Golson rolled right and found Goodman in the left corner of the end zone on the first drive of the third quarter to make it 21-3.Boston College made one last charge with a 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter that cut the deficit to 21-6. On Notre Dame’s next possession, Riddick fumbled and, while the referees tried to untangle the pile, BC safety Spenser Rositano stood 15 yards away, waving the ball in the air.But BC couldn’t get past the Notre Dame 35 before turning the ball over on downs. The Eagles held on defense, then brought the ball to midfield before Rettig’s pass was deflected by receiver Donte Elliott and right to Te’o.

Bulls chug way to 87-80 win over T-Wolves

With the Bulls missing Derrick Rose and two starters going without a basket, the team’s revamped bench came through just like the old version did so many times over the last couple of years.Nate Robinson scored 18 points off the bench, and the Bulls beat Minnesota 87-80 on Saturday night, ending the Timberwolves’ three-game winning streak. Robinson played 31 minutes after starting point guard Kirk Hinrich left the game with a right hip strain in the second quarter. Robinson sparked an 11-point run, helping the Bulls beat Minnesota for the sixth straight time.

“I just try to get my teammates involved and bring energy,” Robinson said. “Hopefully I did that.”

Joakim Noah added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Luol Deng chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds, as the Bulls (4-2) bounced back from their second home loss in three outings.

“We’ve got to just keep fighting for as many wins as possible,” Noah said. “It’s always been like that.”

Nikola Pekovic led the short-handed Timberwolves (4-2) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Minnesota’s three-game streak matched its season high from last season.

“We played good tonight,” Pekovic said. “Right to the end. But we had some bad moments.”

Hinrich went scoreless in 11 minutes before departing, and forward Carlos Boozer was limited to two points and failed to score a field goal in a game for the first time since Nov. 18, 2003.

“Right now, the ball is just not going in for [Boozer],” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s gotten some good looks. It’ll come around.”

Yet, the Bulls had plenty to win with, as coach Tom Thibodeau likes to say, getting 11 points from Marco Belinelli, nine during a spree of three 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter.

“That’s part of my game,” Belinelli said. “I think it was important tonight, for me and for the team.”

Reserve Taj Gibson added eight points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

“I thought our bench was terrific,” Thibodeau said. “I thought Marco was terrific. Taj was good. Nazr [Mohammed] was good.”

Belinelli’s 3-point burst helped the Bulls establish a nine-point lead early fourth, breaking open a tight game. The Bulls  hit 6 for 13 from behind the arc, its season high for makes. The Bulls entered the game last in the NBA in 3-point makes and attempts.

“We’ve got some guys who have shown throughout their career that they are good 3-point shooters,” Thibodeau said. “We still have to get our timing down and get a flow to what we’re doing.”

The Bulls led by as many as 10 points down the stretch, going up by that margin when Deng hit a jumper from the corner with 3:53 remaining.The Timberwolves closed within five points on Dante Cunningham’s layup with 42.6 seconds to play, but the Bulls held on down the stretch.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Minnesota’s Chase Budinger left the floor with a twisted left knee and didn’t return. After the game, the Timberwolves didn’t seem too pleased with the Bulls’ physical style of play.

“They were fouling [Budinger] and just pushed him,” Minnesota guard Luke Ridnour said. “Gave him a little extra shove.That’s how they play. Lot of pushing. Lot of fouling. You’ve just got to play through it. We did and we had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.”

The severity of Budinger’s injury was unknown, but his left leg was wrapped in ice after the game. The team said X-rays of Budinger’s knee were negative and he will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

“They’ve got big people who are very active and they challenge you,” Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. “You’ve got to respond to it.”

Robinson’s seven points helped his team grab a six-point lead with an 11-point run midway through the second quarter. The run was capped by Noah’s feed to Taj Gibson on the baseline for a two-handed dunk.

“I think our bench did a great job,” Robinson said. “We come to practice ready to play and we’ve got our starting five’s back.”

The Bulls edged back in front with a 23-18 third quarter advantage, capped when rookie Marquis Teague drove the lane and scored with his left hand for his first career points. Teague, the Bulls first-round pick in June, hadn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 2.

“It felt good, get a bucket in, just to help my team,” Teague said. “I wasn’t really overwhelmed. I felt like I was comfortable, ready to play.”

It’s unknown if Hinrich will miss time because of his injury as he will be re-evaluated on Sunday. However, Thibodeau said he’s confident that Teague will be ready to pick up the slack.

“If he’s in that locker room, he can play,” Thibodeau said. “I’ve been very pleased with what he’s done in practice.”

NOTES—The Timberwolves had just 11 players available even before Budinger’s injury. Ricky Rubio (left knee surgery) and Kevin Love (fractured right hand) have been out all season….Jose Barea missed his second straight game with a sprained left foot, while Brandon Roy missed his first game of the campaign with a sore right knee……The Bulls held its opponent under 100 points for the 15th straight games…..Saturday marked the 23rd anniversary of the first win in Minnesota history, a 125-118 overtime win over Philadelphia. Thibodeau was a Timberwolves assistant at the time in his first NBA season.

Punchless Illini fall to Gophers 17-3, now 0-6 in Big Ten.

CHAMPAIGN—Minnesota coach Jerry Kill did it again.After rebuilding programs earlier in his career, Kill has the Gophers bowl eligible for the first time since 2009 after defeating Illinois 17-3 Saturday.Kill, who overhauled Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois before taking over Minnesota, earned his first Big Ten road win in his second season after running back Donnell Kirkwood rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns.The Gophers (6-4, 2-4 Big Ten) won for the second time in three games and pushed their winning streak at Memorial Stadium to four. Minnesota was content to keep the ball on the ground after completing only three passes in the first half and nine the entire game.Kirkwood, a sophomore from Delray Beach, Fla., scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter to break a 3-3 tie. The run capped an 11-play, 51-yard drive.After Minnesota recovered a fumble by Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase on a quarterback sneak on third-and-1 at the Illinois 29, Kirkwood scored on a 12-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to clinch it.The game pitted two sluggish offenses which combined for 585 total yards.Minnesota freshman quarterback Philip Nelson won for the second time in his fourth start, but the Gophers relied on the running game. He threw for just 78 yards.While Kill’s program enjoyed a milestone victory, Illinois continued a slide under first-year coach Tim Beckman.After losing its final six Big Ten games last season, Illinois (2-8, 0-6) saw its Big Ten losing streak hit 12 games. The Illini have lost seven consecutive games this season.When Scheelhaase threw an incomplete pass on a fourth and three from the Minnesota 35-yard line with 5:12 left, the Illini failed on their best scoring chance in the second half.Scheelhaase threw for 175 yards on 15 of 23 passing, but he lost two fumbles.The Illini managed just 101 yards rushing. Running back Donovonn Young led Illinois on the ground with 42 yards.Illinois didn’t get much done against the Gophers. Illinois took a 3-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal by Nick Immekus in the first quarter after a drive stalled at the Minnesota 2-yard-line.Besides that early scoring chance, the Illini also had a fumble and six punts in their first eight possessions.Scheelhaase completed a 49-yard pass to wide receiver Spencer Harris on a flea-flicker on the Illini’s first drive, and it looked like Illinois had some early momentum. Illinois couldn’t keep it rolling.

Cats let another one slip away in fourth quarter, fall to Michigan in OT

ANN ARBOR—Another blown game due to a bad fourth quarter for the Northwestern.They SHOULD be unbeaten, but no…..Devin Gardner ran for a 1-yard touchdown in overtime and Michigan’s defense responded with a stop, giving the Wolverines a wild 38-31 win over Northwestern on Saturday.Trevor Siemian threw a 15-yard pass to Tony Jones with 3:59 left in regulation to give the Wildcats a 31-28 lead and Gardner threw an interception on the next snap.Northwestern couldn’t pick up enough first downs to run out the clock in regulation and the Wolverines took advantage.Gardner heaved a 53-yard pass to Roy Roundtree to set up Brendan Gibbons’ 26-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to force OT.The Wolverines (7-3, 5-1 Big Ten) barely prevented Northwestern (6-4, 4-2) from winning consecutive games in Ann Arbor for the first time since the 1934 and 1936 seasons.The comeback victory keeps Michigan’s hopes alive of winning a Big Ten title for the first time since 2004.However, college football’s winningest program needs another conference team to knock Nebraska out of first place in the Legends Division. The Cornhuskers would win a tiebreaker because of their win over the Wolverines two weeks ago when Denard Robinson left the game with nerve damage in his right elbow. Gardner, making his second straight start in place of the injured Robinson, was 16 of 29 for 286 yards with touchdown passes to Fitzgerald Toussaint and Devin Funchess. Gardner ran for 47 yards and two scores.NU quarterback Kain Colter, who was taken out once because he wasn’t throwing the ball well and another time because he was injured, was 8 of 14 for 96 yards and a TD. Colter ran 24 times for 82 yards and fumbled, setting up one of Michigan’s scores in a closely contested game filled with ties and lead changes.Siemian was 6 of 7 for 87 yards with two TDs, a game-tying 19-yard strike to Cameron Dickerson with 25 seconds left in the first half and the go-ahead pass to Jones late in the game.Venric Mark had 104 yards rushing and a score for the Wildcats, who had a lot of success with option pitches to the outside only to stop calling that play frequently in the fourth quarter.Toussaint ran for 92 yards and turned a short pass into a 28-yard, go-ahead TD late in the third quarter by breaking a tackle and sprinting down a sideline. Northwestern seemed to set itself up for an upset victory at the Big House when it went ahead late in the game, picked off Gardner and converted a fourth-and-1 – by the nose of the football – on Colter’s dive with 3:07 left on a play that stood after review.But the Wildcats needed one more first down to run out the clock and couldn’t earn another one against a suddenly stingy defense.In overtime, on a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan 17, linebacker Kenny Demens stopped Tyris Jones on a run up the middle to allow the Wolverines to celebrate a thrilling victory.

NOTES—Nobody is a bigger Fan of Pat Fitzgerald than I am. And he’s a top notch guy as well. BUT he’s got to be second guessed(or in my case FIRST guessed) for two decisions late in this OT loss to Michigan. Colter turned his ankle,and with the Wildcats down by 4, Siemian came in and threw a beautiful TD pass to put the Cats in front. They then intercepted a Gardner pass,but Fitz put Colter back in and he clearly was not 100% even though he made a gutsy 4th down play to keep the Cats possession, but Colter is not as good a passer as Siemian. Then afterthe NU defense allowed a long pass(take a pass inerference and 15 yd penalty,but instead Roudntree caught the pass setting up an easy game tying FG. In OT Mich scored a TD, then Colter remained in and was stuffed twice incl on 4th down to end the game. Cats completely out of the Legends Division race. Sorry Fitz, bad decision to put an injured Colter back in. Michigan was ripe,but as Dennis Green would say, THEY LET THEM OFF THE HOOK!

LES

DePaul wins blowout in opener with UC-Riverside on Campus

Brandon Young scored 20 points and Cleveland Melvin added 16 as DePaul opened its 90th season of basketball with a 91-59 victory over UC-Riverside on Friday night.Playing a rare game at on-campus McGrath-Phillips Arena, the Blue Demons pulled away in the second half, as they turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 24-point advantage with 12:08 showing in the second.The Highlanders never got closer than 18 while the Blue Demons’ lead topped 30 points with a late 3-pointer from Stuart Pirri as reserves closed out the game.Josh Fox scored 17 points while Austin Quick added 15 for UC-Riverside. Robert Smith, the Highlanders’ top returning scorer, closed with nine. He sat out much of the second half with a leg injury.

Baltimore beats Soul again, this time 17-9

BALTIMORE—The Chicago Soul (1-2) returned to Baltimore in hopes of seeking redemption after last Saturday’s loss, but had no such luck as they dropped 17-9 to the Blast (2-0) on Friday night at the 1st Mariner Arena. The Soul, missing its scoring power in Chile Farias, got off to a slower start than last week as Baltimore’s Lucio Gonzaga blasted the ball in the net to allow the Blast to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Carlos Muñoz tied it up for the Soul at the 5:30 mark, but Pat Healey followed it up minutes later with a goal of his own to give Baltimore a 4-2 lead.Soul captain Matthew Stewart responded with a three-point goal, giving the Soul its first and only lead of the night at 5-4. Blast captain Mike Lookingland helped his squad quickly restore the lead with a goal to put Baltimore back on top 6-5 by the end of the first quarter.The Blast opened up the second quarter with a goal by Marco Mangione, extending Baltimore’s lead to 8-5. The Soul appeared to catch a break when Blast’s Adriano Dos Santos got called for a tripping penalty, allowing Christian Meza to take advantage of Chicago’s power play and strike the ball past Baltimore goalkeeper Troy Hernandez to cut the Blast’s lead to 8-7.Adauto Neto and Machel Milwood followed up with back-to-back goals for the Blast to pull away from the Soul and give their side a 12-7 advantage. Tony Donatelli added a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining in the half to make it 15-7 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.After a scoreless third quarter, Healey scored his second goal of the night on a power play to give the Blast a 17-7 lead. Stewart attempted to shift the momentum back in the Soul’s favor, squeezing in a goal at 11:09 to cut the Blast lead to 17-9, but the Soul ran out of time and picked up its second loss of the season.

“I think our biggest struggle was in the first half,” said Soul Head Coach Manny Rojas. “We didn’t play well together as a team. We fixed it in the second half and played even with the Blast the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the fact that they beat us in the first half cost us the game.If we play our next game the same way we played in the second half of this game, we should have a good chance.”

The Soul will now travel to Rochester to take on the Lancers Saturday night at the Blue Cross Arena at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game can be viewed live online at MISLnation.com.

Illini win first game for Groce 75-55 over Colgate

CHAMPAIGN—Brandon Paul scored 20 points and John Groce won his first game as Illinois coach with a 75-55 victory over Colgate on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.Tracy Abrams added 13 points and Tyler Griffey had 10 for the Illini, who hit 10 of 18 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 43-25 lead at the break. Illinois was just 15 of 35 overall from the field in the first half but broke a tie game with a 29-11 run heading into halftime.Murphy Burnatowski scored 23 points to lead Colgate.Groce guided Ohio to the Sweet 16 last season before replacing Bruce Weber, who was fired as Illinois coach in March after losing 12 of the last 14 games.Paul also had eight rebounds and five assists for the Illini.

Loyola wins opener vs Toledo

Ben Averkamp scored 15 points and added nine rebounds Friday night for Loyola, and the Ramblers went on to defeat visiting Toledo 62-50 in the season opener for both squads.Averkamp’s two made free throws at the 19:18 mark in the second half gave him 1,000 career points at Loyola.Joe Crisman added 10 points and four rebounds while Jordan Hicks had nine points and six rebounds. Hicks’ dunk with 4:46 to play gave the Ramblers their biggest lead of the night at 62-40, but a 3-point basket by Toledo’s A.J. Matthew capped a 10-0 run by the Rockets and cut the lead to 12 at 62-50 with 34 seconds to go.After a timeout by Loyola, the Ramblers held the ball and the final seconds ticked off the clock to seal a win for the Ramblers.

Durant takes over late, OKC rallies past Bulls 97-91

Oklahoma City went to Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter. The Bulls continue to miss their best closer, so all they had to pitch in.Durant and Co. were just too much to overcome.The NBA scoring champion had eight of his 24 points in the final period and the Thunder beat the Bulls 97-91 on Thursday night.

“It was one of those games you have to grind out,” Durant said. “We’ve been through so many. We know what it takes.”

Durant iced the game with an off-balance jumper off one foot with 35.1 seconds to play. He added another jumper a few seconds later and then finished off his game-ending spree with a couple of free throws.Oklahoma City outscored the Bulls 31-19 in the fourth quarter, overcoming a six-point deficit.

“That’s winning time, fourth quarter,” Durant said. “In the fourth quarter we really turned it up a lot. But if you want to be a really good team you’ve got to do that from the beginning of the game.”

Serge Ibaka scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, and had a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, who beat the Bulls for the third time in their last four games at Chicago. Russell Westbrook finished with 16 points and 12 assists.

“I told (Durant) be aggressive, just be aggressive, especially in the fourth quarter,” Westbrook said. “It was his time. Everybody knows that’s his time. He took his time and got the shots he needed.”

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 27 points, and Richard Hamilton added 20 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah had nine points, 13 rebounds and a team-high six assists.

“Overall, I thought we played hard but we turned the ball over a lot,” Noah said. “[Durant] hit some really tough shots.”

Hamilton made a tying jumper with 2:52 to play, but then Durant took over, making a floater from the top of the key over Deng to keep the Bulls at bay.

“I was on him,” Deng said. “He’s 6-9 (6-foot-9). A great player. Really tough shot.”

While Durant came up with some clutch baskets at one end, the Bulls had no one to answer with star point guard Derrick Rose sidelined with a knee injury that will keep him out of action into the new year.

“Derrick Rose is an unbelievable player, don’t get me wrong. He is Chicago,” Durant said. “But those guys are great complements to him. Once one of your best players is out, guys got to step up and that’s what they’ve been doing ever since he’s been out.”

The teams combined for 43 turnovers. The 21 miscues by the Bulls were a hot topic after the game.

“We have to sustain our defense and take care of the ball,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We did not sustain our effort and we need to have low turnovers.”

Durant was passive for much of the game and didn’t attempt a free throw until the closing seconds. He has had just one game without a free-throw attempt since the start of the 2010-11 season.

“I like Kevin to be a playmaker,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “That is what separates great players from good ones. The 19 shots like tonight are where I like him to be.”

The Thunder put together a 7-0 to grab the lead with 8:34 to play. Nick Collison capped the surge with a layup off a pass from Eric Maynor.Deng snapped the run with his third 3-pointer of the game. Deng entered the contest 1 for 11 from behind the arc. The Bulls ranked last in the league in 3-point makes, attempts and percentage, but hit a season-high five 3s in the game.

“Lu provides whatever you need,” Thibodeau said. “If you need him to score more, he can do that.”

The Thunder responded a six-point run, taking a five-point lead after Ibaka blocked a Deng shot from behind, igniting a fast break and Thabo Sefolosha’s layup.

“They are hard to guard,” Thibodeau said. “They made some tough plays and closed it out.”

Kirk Hinrich scored seven points to lead a third-quarter charge for the Bulls, hitting his second 3-pointer of the game and reaching double figures in scoring for the first time this season. The Bulls led 72-66 entering the final period.They jumped to an early eight-point lead, but the Thunder closed the opening period with a 9-2 run to tie the game. Durant scored the last six points of the quarter on two dunks and a jump shot.Ibaka scored 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the opening quarter and increased that to 15 by the half, when the Thunder led 48-47.Jimmy Butler helped the Bulls stay close the second quarter, putting up six points, three rebounds and three assists in the period, while playing solid defense on fellow reserve Kevin Martin, who scored 15 points for the Thunder.Hinrich finished with 12 points.

NOTES—It was a season-high point total for Durant, who entered averaging 20.8 points after scoring a league-best 28.0 points per game last season. Durant had scored at least 25 points in his last seven games against the Bulls, but his high in Oklahoma City’s first four games was just 23…..The Bulls entered second in the league in defensive points allowed per possession. They hadn’t allowed a team to score more than 93 points in any of its first four games….The teams combined to hit 36 of 39 free throws. It was just the fifth time both the Bulls and their opponent shot at least 88.9 percent from the line since the 1996-97 season.

Peanut says baby will be born Monday and he’ll face Texans Sunday night,

“Baby is coming Monday don’t worry I’ll be there Sunday.”    That was a tweet sent by Bears CB Charles Tillman Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, Tillman created a stir when he said on The 670 THE SCORE, “The wife is due any day, so hopefully this baby can stay in until after the game on Sunday. I hope she stays in — I’m having another girl. Monday, for sure, but if she comes Sunday, I think I’m going to have to be at the hospital Sunday. So, I hope she stays in until after Sunday.”