Luol Deng and the Bulls found a way to win, so this ugly game looked just fine to them.Deng scored 21 points and the Bulls overcame a rough shooting night to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 86-81 on Monday for their fifth straight victory.

“As I told our guys, it got choppy, particularly in the second quarter, and they do that to you. They’re very good defensively,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting the ball to the second side, which you have to do.”

Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, who are on their longest winning streak since taking eight in a row from Feb. 20-March 7, 2012. Jimmy Butler had 14 points and Derrick Rose finished with 12.Deng’s 3-pointer with 27.1 seconds remaining gave the Bulls an 85-81 lead. Gerald Henderson then missed for the Bobcats, and Rose had a free throw to help wrap it up.The Bulls went 26 for 31 at the foul line, compared to 8 for 16 for the Bobcats.

“We fought hard. Obviously, the difference in the game was the difference in free throws,” Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. “You come here and they’re a great team, they’re well prepared. You can’t get outscored by 18 at the free-throw line. That’s the game in a nutshell.”

Rose, who hit a career-high six 3-pointers in the Bulls’ 110-94 win Saturday over Indiana, went 4 for 13 from the field. The Bulls shot 27 of 75 (36 percent) overall.

“We’ll take it,” said Rose, who played 31 minutes in his second game back after missing Chicago’s win at Toronto on Friday with a sore right hamstring.

Butler missed part of the game with a right toe injury but came back with 6:35 left in the fourth.Charlotte was looking for its fourth consecutive road victory and third in four games overall, but it was unable to take advantage of the Bulls’ poor shooting. Once again, the Bobcats struggled from the floor despite a strong effort in the paint.The Bobcats were shooting a league-worst 40.2 percent from the field coming into the day, and they were 28th from 3-point range at 29.3 percent. On Monday, they shot 36.3 percent despite outscoring the Bulls 38-28 in the paint.

“We played hard the whole game,” said Henderson, who made two free throws with 51.3 seconds left to cut the Bulls’ lead to one. “We came out a little sluggish. We played them hard. We just didn’t come up with the plays at the end of the game, defensively.”

Jeffery Taylor led Charlotte with a career-high 20 points and Henderson had 16 in a game that featured two of the league’s top defensive teams. Entering Monday, the Bulls were third in opponents’ scoring at 90.0 points per game, while the Bobcats were fourth at 93.6.

“They’re great defensively,” Thibodeau said. “Steve’s a hell of a coach. He’s doing an unbelievable job. I’m happy for him that he’s finally gotten an opportunity and the job that he’s doing.”

That defense helped Charlotte stay in the game without one of its best scorers.Bobcats center Al Jefferson missed his third consecutive game with a bone bruise in his right ankle. Clifford said he hopes Jefferson can play Wednesday against Brooklyn, but he will more likely play Friday against Phoenix.Jefferson, who signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Bobcats in July, has played in three of Charlotte’s 11 games and is averaging 15 points and 8.7 rebounds.Without him, Charlotte had a chance to win in the final minutes in Chicago, but couldn’t find a way past the Bulls.

“It was a long summer. We haven’t played in a while, all together. I think we’re starting to get a rhythm,” Deng said. “Our offense, it still can get a lot better.”

NOTES—It was the Bulls’ last home game before they host New Orleans on Dec. 2. Their next six are away from Chicago as they go on their annual circus trip. … Clifford and Thibodeau were on the New York Knicks’ coaching staff from 2001-2003 and in Houston from 2003-2007. … Charlotte plays five of its next six at home. …Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver were in attendance.

Josh McCown spent a few quiet moments trying to figure out what would happen. He probably didn’t envision this.The Bears waited out a long rain delay and put in extra time to come away with a much-needed win.Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal to lift the Bears to a 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in a game delayed about two hours by a torrential downpour. Justin Tucker tied it for the Ravens with a 21-yard field goal at the end of regulation. The big delay came after Tucker kicked a 52-yarder with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. Fans were ordered to take cover as players headed to the locker rooms while heavy rains and winds whipped through Soldier Field. They emerged about two hours later with the sky clearing and the sun coming out, but the rain and wind returned in the third quarter, turning the stands into a sea of ponchos. During the delay, Bears players stretched and went over the game plan.

“Closed my eyes and just trying to think about the game, visualize the game a little bit,” McCown said. “And kind of assess what happened the first two series. What did we do wrong? Why weren’t we moving the ball? What are they going to do to us?”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh wouldn’t say what his team did during the down time, although his team is no stranger to delays. The Ravens experienced a power outage in the Super Bowl, after all, and the start of their season-opener at Denver was pushed back by lightning. Both were just 34 minutes, though.

“I think we’ve led the league in delays over the last few years,” Harbaugh said.

Gould won it with a 38-yarder on third-and-8 at the 20 with 8:41 left in OT after McCown connected with a leaping Martellus Bennett on a 43-yard pass to put the ball on the 22, and the Bears (6-4) came away with the win after dropping four of six.They were leading 20-17 with 10:33 remaining in regulation after Matt Forte scored on a 14-yard screen from McCown, dodging three or four defenders along the way, but the Ravens (4-6) made one big push down the stretch to send it to overtime. They drove from the 16 to the 2, getting a one-handed catch from Dallas Clark on a fourth down at 44. After Joe Flacco overthrew Torrey Smith in the back of the end zone on third down, Tucker tied it at 20-all with 3 seconds left. McCown threw for 216 yards without an interception, subbing for Jay Cutler (high left ankle sprain). In four games and two starts, he has five touchdowns and no turnovers, and he came through under brutal conditions.

”It’s definitely one of those days where you look across the field and (see) Joe Flacco and look on the sideline and Jay’s over there,” McCown said. ”And I’m like, `Can I borrow somebody’s arm?”’

Alshon Jeffery had seven catches for 83 yards. Forte added 42 receiving and 83 rushing.Julius Peppers had two sacks. David Bass returned an interception for a touchdown, and Jonathan Bostic set up a field goal by Gould at the end of the first half with an interception. The Ravens were able to get their ground game going, with Ray Rice rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown against a team that’s struggled to stop the run. He scored from the 1 early on after a 47-yard dash on Baltimore’s first drive. But Flacco had a rough day, throwing for 162 yards and getting picked off twice.

”Every time you get the ball, it either was wet or had all kinds of mud on it,” he said. ”It was an issue for the timing stuff, getting a grip on it quick enough.”

The Bears scored 10 points in a 12-second stretch in the second quarter, on a 20-yard field goal by Gould and a 24-yard interception return by Bass. He picked off Flacco at the line and ran untouched to the end zone, the Bears fourth interception return for a TD this season, but Baltimore immediately answered with an 80-yard scoring drive.Flacco lofted a 5-yard scoring pass between two defenders to Smith to put the Ravens back on top, 17-10, with 4:08 left in the half. But an interception at midfield by Bostic with a minute left led to a 46-yard field goal by Gould as time expired, making it a four-point game at the half.And what a strange half it was. Play was stopped just after 12:30 p.m. CT and didn’t resume until 2:25. There were reports of at least one tornado touching down in Illinois and extensive damage in at least one part of the state. At Soldier Field, long lines formed in the upper deck as drenched fans tried to make their way toward the tunnel with lightning striking near the stadium.

“It was pretty muddy, windy,” Bennett said. “I feel like I’ve been fishing all day.”

NOTES—Bears DT Stephen Paea left the game with a toe injury…..Harbaugh wouldn’t comment on the condition of safety Matt Elam, who limped off the field in the fourth quarter after making a tackle on Forte.

A night after giving up seven goals, the Blackhawks rebounded with an improved defensive effort. Patrick Sharp scored two goals, including one on a third-period penalty shot, and Kris Versteeg had a goal and an assist to lead the Hawks to a 5-1 win over San Jose in a matchup of two of the Western Conference’s top teams on Sunday night. Jonathan Toews and rookie Brandon Pirri also scored for the Blackhawks, who lost 7-2 in Nashville on Saturday, their most lopsided this season.

“Tonight was back-and-forth, trading chances, but at the same time, there’s a lot of individual battles that we were on top of,” Sharp said.

The Blackhawks limited road-weary San Jose to a handful of prime scoring opportunities before pulling away with three goals in the third period.

“We weren’t happy with the last game, obviously,” said Corey Crawford, who finished with 23 saves. “Tonight was one of our better efforts all around, defensively, from everyone in this room.

“(San Jose) came out strong, but throughout the game, we had a little bit more legs than them. We opened up the game at the end there.”

Versteeg scored his first goal with the Blackhawks in his first home game since being reacquired in trade from Florida on Thursday. A member of the Hawks 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team, he joined the Blackhawks on Saturday in Nashville.

“It was emotional, obviously, coming back,” Versteeg said. “Last night wasn’t definitely the way I saw coming back in my head, but tonight was very exciting. The guys put in a big effort.”

Crawford and San Jose’s Antti Niemi, the goalies who backstopped the Blackhawks to their two recent Stanley Cup titles, opposed each other. Crawford, in nets for the Hawks Cup run last season, allowed only a second-period goal to San Jose’s Joe Pavelski on a shot he caught, but then misplayed. Niemi, who helped lead the 2010 Blackhawks to the championship, stopped 22 as he faced his former team for the 12th time. Niemi is 5-6-1 against the Blackhawks.The Sharks haven’t won in Chicago since Dec. 3, 2010, Niemi’s first game against his old club. They’re 0-5-1 at the United Center since then. And Niemi didn’t get a lot of help in this one, as the Blackhawks created chances and pounced on San Jose turnovers.

“We lacked a lot of energy that was needed to play in this game,” San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. “When you don’t have energy, you better be sharp mentally and we may have been poorer in that area. There are a lot of teams that play against the Blackhawks and I’m sure the coaches are telling them the same thing, that turnovers kill you,” McLellan added. “Their counter-punch is incredible and we learned that lesson again.”

The Sharks played the final contest of a five-game road trip, finishing at 3-1-1 on a zig-zagging swing with four contests in western Canada and a finale in Chicago.The Blackhawks, meanwhile, embark on a seven-game “circus trip” Tuesday at Colorado. They don’t return to the United Center until Dec. 3 against Dallas.The Hawks started its solid send-off in the first period when Pirri scored the only goal of a crisply played frame with 3:26 left. Pirri, who led the AHL in points last year with 75, has goals in three straight games and four in his past six. Patrick Kane went down the right wing into the San Jose zone, backing in Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan to the circle. Kane’s shot deflected off Hannan and across the crease to the left side of the net, where Pirri buried the loose puck. Pavelski tied it at 8:16 of the second on a 30-foot shot from the slot. Crawford picked Pavelski’s shot out of the air with his glove, but when he lowered it to his side, the puck rolled out and trickled across the goal line. Sharp put The Hawks back ahead at 2-1 just under 4 minutes later on a one-time shot from the left circle. He ripped the puck past Niemi after taking a pinpoint cross-ice feed from Marcus Kruger. Toews extended it to 3-1 at 3:39 of the third with his team-leading 10th goal by converting a rebound of his own shot. Niemi stopped Toews’ first attempt after the captain skated out of the right corner, but the rebound dropped inches from the goal line. Toews skated around a scrum at the edge of the crease and tucked in the loose puck. With Niemi down on the ice and out of the net, Versteeg converted a rebound of Brandon’s Saad shot with 4:50 left in the third to make it 4-1. Sharp was awarded the penalty shot with 1:11 left after being pulled down by Marc-Edouard Vlasic on a breakaway. He fired high over Niemi score on a penalty shot for the first time in five chances with the Hawks.

NOTES—The Blackhawks placed G Nikolai Khabibulin on injured reserve with an injury suffered in Saturday’s 7-2 loss in Nashville. The Hawks called up rookie Antti Raanta from Rockford of the AHL to back up Crawford. Raanta was signed as a free agent from Finland last summer and was 7-5-0 with a 2.83 goals-against average in 14 games with Rockford. … Marian Hossa missed his second game with an injury. Coach Joel Quenneville hopes Hossa will be able to play Tuesday in Colorado.

EVANSTON—Freshman Tony Wills hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds left as Illinois State held off a late Northwestern comeback to secure a 68-64 non-conference victory on Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.Teammates Zach Lofton and Daishon Knight led a balanced attack with 15 points apiece while John Jones had 11, Reggie Lynch added 10 and Michael Middlebrooks collected 11 rebounds.The Redbirds (1-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the third time in the five meetings with the Wildcats.Northwestern (1-2) rallied from a 19-point second half deficit and trailed 66-64 after JerShon Cobb’s jumper with 8.2 seconds to play. But Wills locked down the win seconds later with his free throws.Cobb closed with 19 points, and Drew Crawford had 13 while Tre Demps added 12.The Redbirds overcame a sluggish start and took a lead for good in the game’s ninth minute.Northwestern opened an early 8-3 lead while Illinois State hit just one of its first nine field goals. The Wildcats then missed seven straight shots while the Redbirds sprinted to an 15-8 lead by the 8:06 mark after back-to-back Knight layups, a Lynch dunk and another a fast break jam by Middlebrooks.The Redbirds later used a 9-0 run to open a 31-17 lead with 4:04 showing on the way to a 40-22 halftime edge. Lofton had 12 first-half points on 3-of-6 shooting from the arc. Northwestern missed all seven 3-point tries.The Wildcats opened the second half with six unanswered points, including a Dave Sobolewski 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 12.The Redbirds replied with seven straight points, including a Lofton 3-pointer for a 47-28 lead with 16:04 Remaining.Another Northwestern surge cut the Illinois State lead to single digits at 53-44 when Sobolewski drove uncontested for a layup with 10 minutes left.The Wildcats trailed 63-56 with 2:28 to play, hit 4-of-6 free throws over the next two minutes and had two Cobb baskets.Northwestern, under first-year coach Chris Collins, has four starters back from a team that went 13-19 under former coach Bill Carmody. Second-year Redbirds coach Dan Muller opened the season with just two returnees, no seniors and nine players with no Division I experience.Chris Collins is the son of Redbirds legend Doug Collins, Illinois State’s all-time leading scorer (2,240 points) who later went on to a lengthy NBA career as a player and coach.Both teams resume play Wednesday with Northwestern at UIC while Illinois State hosts Manhattan.

CHAMPAIGN—John Ekey scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Sunday as Illinois cruised to an easy 81-55 victory over previously unbeaten Bradley.The 6-foot-7-inch Ekey hit five of seven from the three-point line. Junior guard Ravonte Rice scored 13 points, and Tracy Abrams added 12.Tyshon Pickett had a game-high 21 points for Bradley (4-1). Walt Lemon Jr., the Braves’ leading scorer with 18.3 points per game coming into Sunday’s contest, added 12.Illinois out-rebounded Bradley 49-25, and had more offensive rebounds (10) in the first half than Bradley had defensive (9).The Illini led 34-19 at the half, and held Bradley to 28 percent field-goal shooting in the first half. Illinois ended up shooting 47.5 percent from the field for the game, while Bradley shot 36 percent.Late in the first half, Bradley’s Xzavier Taylor fouled Rice, and both were awarded technical fouls after they each complained loudly.Illinois played its fourth game of a five-game home stand, and opens 4-0 for the third consecutive season. Bradley had been aiming for its first 5-0 start since 2006-07.The two teams are separated by about 90 miles on Interstate 74. Illinois leads the series 13-3, but Bradley won the last meeting 72-68 on a neutral court in 2009. The last time Bradley won in Champaign was Dec. 14, 1929.Sunday’s game also saw Bradley coach Geno Ford go up against younger brother Dustin Ford, an assistant to Illinois coach John Groce.Both head coaches also offered their thoughts and prayers to the victims of Sunday’s outbreak of tornadoes across central Illinois, which caused widespread damage and injured several residents throughout the Peoria and Champaign areas.Illinois squares off against Chicago State at home Friday, while Bradley travels to Arizona State on Friday.

With massive storms looming here in Chicago and the possibility of tornadoes in the area, fans were evacuated from the stands at Soldier Field during the Bears–Ravens game, which was temporarily suspended because of weather.Referee Gene Steratore announced to the crowd that the game was temporarily suspended with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter and the Ravens leading 10-0.Public address announcer Jim Riebandt said that “although there appears to be no immediate danger” to fans, they were required to leave their seats and get to the covered concourses.It’s believed that the worst part of the storm started at 12:41 p.m. CT, last for 10-15 minutes and then start up again at 1:20 p.m. This is the second weather delay the Ravens have dealt with this season, after they had a lightning storm pop up in Denver during their opener against the Broncos.

An idiot ran out on the field around 1:25am and was quickly subdued by Soldier Field Security–HAVE A NICE NIGHT—–IN JAIL!!!

Derrick Rose came to work unsure if he’d be able to play.He left with his confidence intact and his team’s future looking very bright.Luol Deng scored 23 points, Rose added 20 and the Bulls knocked off the NBA’s last unbeaten team with a 110-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls (5-3), who won their fourth straight game behind 11-of-19 shooting from 3-point     range.

“We got off to a good start,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “[The Pacers] missed some shots that they usually make. Overall, I thought it was a good win. We played very unselfishly.”

Indiana (9-1) was the NBA’s first 9-0 team since the 2002-’03 Dallas Mavericks, who started 14-0. The nine wins to start a season matched a franchise record.Nursing a sore right hamstring, Rose was effective in his 30 minutes on the court. He weaved around and penetrated the league’s best defense, which hadn’t allowed more than 91 points to any opponent this year.Rose was injured Monday against Cleveland, and did not play in the Bull’s 96-80 win Friday at Toronto.

“I was just being smart about the situation,” he said about not playing       Friday. “This is my first time having a hamstring injury. I don’t know how it would go if I had played last night. I don’t think I’d be able to play tonight.”

The 25-year-old former MVP shook off the rust after a pair of early off-balance misses. He sank a floater in the lane three minutes in, followed by a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to ignite a 12-2 first-quarter run.

Rose cozied up at the 3-point arc in the second quarter, knocking down all three attempts as the Bulls took a 25-point advantage into the half. He finished 6 for 11 from beyond the arc.

“Most of Rose’s 3s were pretty well contested considering his speed,”  Pacers coach Frank Vogel contended. “You can’t just jam him. You have to give up something. You have to give them credit.”

Kirk Hinrich came off the bench to contribute 13 points, eight  assists and four rebounds for the Bulls, who avenged a 97-80 loss at Indiana on Nov. 6.The Pacers lost despite having all five starters — and two reserves — score in double-digits.Roy Hibbert led Indiana with 14 points a day after posting season-highs with 24 points and eight blocks.The Bulls held Paul George to 12 points.He entered the game seventh in the NBA with 24.6 points per game. George and Lance Stephenson combined to miss       all seven of their 3-point attempts, and the team made just 25 percent.

“I understand I’m going to have nights like this when shots aren’t falling,” George said. “I just don’t want to have many.”

The Pacers were coming off their most lopsided win of the season, a 104-77 drubbing of Milwaukee.   Carlos Boozer and Chris Copeland were ejected with 21 seconds left when a double-technical was called for pushing and shoving.

NOTES—The Bulls reached triple-digits for the second time this season.. Deng led in scoring for the fourth time this year.. Pacers forward Danny Granger (strained left calf) was inactive Saturday. He has yet to play in a game this season.

NASHVILLE—The Nashville Predators were happy to be back home, even if it was for just one game. Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night.Craig Smith scored a goal and added two assists for the Predators. The three-point game equaled the Madison, Wis. native’s career high. Matt Cullen, Nick Spaling, Patric Hornqvist, Viktor Stalberg, Mike Fisher and Shea Weber also scored for Nashville, which ended a four-game losing streak. Patrick Kane and Brandon Pirri had the goals for the Bulls, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Making his second start in as many days, Mazanec stopped seven shots in the first, 17 in the second, and 15 in the third.

“It’s awesome,” Mazanec said. “I am really happy. We played a really good game.”

The 22-year-old Czech is playing his first season in North America. Nashville played its first home game since Oct. 26, having just returned from a seven-game road trip that spanned 17 days. They head back out on the road for games in Detroit and Toronto next week.

“Good response by our guys today,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “We looked at this game as the end of road trip, not the first home game really because of the quick turnover and obviously playing the Stanley Cup champions.”

Cullen scored the game’s first goal at 7:28 of the opening period. From the slot, Smith’s slap shot was stopped by goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The rebound fell to the right of the net, and a diving Cullen poked the rebound in for his third goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Spaling doubled the Nashville lead when his wrist shot from the right faceoff dot slipped just underneath the crossbar at 8:25.

Later in the first, Khabibulin left the game with an injury after making stops on shots from Weber and Hornqvist. Corey Crawford replaced Khabibulin at 15:33. Following the game, the Blackhawks said that Khabibulin had a lower-body injury, but had no further update.

“We got outworked,” Jonathan Toews said. “We didn’t do the things we needed to. We didn’t win our battles, especially in the right areas we needed to win them in.”

Hornqvist’s sixth goal of the season came at 9:02 of the second to give Nashville a 3-0 lead. With Nashville on a power play, Roman Josi’s slap shot from just above the left faceoff circle was tipped by Hornqvist in front and beat Crawford on the short side. Smith and Kane traded goals late in the second, with Smith connecting at 18:18 and Kane answering 26 seconds later.

“We just stayed positive and erased the last couple of games,” Smith said. “We just kind of refreshed for this game. It’s also nice to be home. It’s a good feeling.”

Pirri briefly cut the Nashville lead to 4-2 at 6:14 of the third, but Stalberg, the former Blackhawk, struck back at 6:29. Fisher added his at 12:19.

“It was a free night for them offensively, we were very gracious,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “We know what it takes and we know they’re going to be desperate.”

Weber scored on the power play at 14:07. His assist earlier in the game on Hornqvist’s goal was his 300th career NHL point. The seven goals were a season high for Nashville.

NOTES—Mazanec became just the eighth goaltender in Nashville franchise history to record a victory. … Nashville C Filip Forsberg missed the game with an upper-body injury. He is listed day to day. … Kane has at least one point in his past six games. … Marian Hossa missed the game with an  injury.

EVANSTON—The Northwestern Wildcats keep finding new ways to lose hearbreakers as their already slim Bowl hopes are sinking.Brendan Gibbons sprinted onto the field as the final seconds ticked away in regulation, and with one big boot, he delivered what might have been the best play his coach has witnessed.He also saved Michigan from another loss and helped send the Wolverines to one thrilling victory.Gibbons tied it with a 44-yard field goal at the end of regulation and Devin Gardner scored on a 5-yard run to lift Michigan to a 27-19 triple-overtime win over NU on Saturday. Gardner scored on an option and ran it in on the two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game.Northwestern had one more chance, but Trevor Siemian got sacked for a 14-yard loss by Jibreel Black on second down. Then, his desperation pass on fourth down got intercepted by Thomas Gordan in the end zone, giving the Wolverines (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten) their second win in five games and sending the Wildcats (4-6, 0-6) to their sixth straight loss.None of that would have happened had Gibbons not converted in a chaotic finish at the end of regulation.The field goal unit sprinted onto the field, and Gibbons nailed a 44-yarder as time expired to.send the game to overtime tied at 9. Jake Butt then gave the Wolverines a 16-9 lead with a one-handed grab on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Gardner, but Northwestern wasn’t finished.Kain Colter tied it when he plowed in from the 1 on first down, sending it to a second OT. A 36-yard field goal by Jeff Budzien then put Northwestern ahead, but Michigan answered.After a wide-open Jeremy Gallon dropped a pass in the back of the end zone on third down at the 12, Gibbons tied it at 19 with a 29-yarder. And ultimately, it was Northwestern absorbing another brutal loss.

”It’s pretty unbelievable,” Budzien said. ”It’s shocking. It’s depressing. If you had told me we’d be 4-6 at this time of year, I would have laughed at you.”

All those twists at the end of regulation and in overtime happened after the Wolverines wasted two big chances in the fourth quarter.With a 9-3 lead, Northwestern was pinned at its 3 when Brandon Williams shanked a 7-yard punt.The ball hit off the side of his foot and landed at the 15 before bouncing back to the 10, but Michigan settled for a 28-yard field goal by Gibbons.Then, with 5:44 left, Michigan decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the 5 rather than attempt a tying field goal.Gardner rolled to his right on a keeper. Chi Chi Ariguzo had the initial hit and Nick VanHoose helped bring him down for a 1-yard loss, temporarily preserving the lead.Gibbons’ tying field goal at the end of regulation came after the Wolverines converted two fourth downs. The field goal unit had to sprint onto the field after a 16-yard pass to Gallon, with holder Drew Dileo sliding like a baseball player to his spot.NU was scrambling, too, and Gibbons got the kick off right as time expired.Gardner completed 24 of 43 passes for 226 yards without an interception, although he could have had a few considering the Wildcats broke up 10 passes and dropped at least four. He was also sacked five times, a slight improvement over the seven he absorbed in each of the previous two games.Gallon had 115 yards receiving. Derrick Green ran for 79, and Michigan finished with 137 after being held tominus-69 rushing in back-to-back losses to Michigan State.Siemian threw for 137 yards for Northwestern. Kain Colter passed for 26 and ran for 78, and the Wildcats absorbed yet another brutal loss.This one comes after they fell by three at Nebraska two weeks earlier when Cornhuskers’ Jordan Westerkamp snagged Ron Kellogg III’s tipped desperation heave with no time left.It also continues a spiral that began when they blew a 10-point third-quarter lead and lost by 10 to Ohio State at home on Oct. 5.Michigan got a reprieve. A Big Ten championship is out of reach, but finishing with double-digit wins is not.

CHAMPAIGN—Carlos Hyde ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns and Braxton Miller had another 184 yards rushing and two scores Saturday to push No. 3 Ohio State past Illinois 60-35. But even with Hyde’s offensive explosion, the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) needed a third-quarter defensive stop and safety to secure the win. After trailing 28-0 in the second quarter, Illinois (3-7, 0-6) closed to 35-21 in the third on two Nathan Scheelhaase touchdown passes. Illinois had the momentum when the Buckeyes’ Ryan Shazier sacked backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole in the end zone. Illinois recovered his fumble but the safety gave the Buckeyes a 37-21 edge and the ball. Minutes later, a Hyde touchdown put them up 44-21.Hyde tacked on two late, long touchdowns runs of 55 and 51 yards.Miller threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Scheelhaase led the Illini with 288 yards passing and two touchdowns.