2012 » the occasion, and make plays whenever they ask me to.Perine star

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- With a possible trip to the Big Ten championship game at stake, Nebraska fell flat.C.J. Beathard threw three touchdown passes and the Hawkeyes pummeled No. 16 Nebraska 40-10 on Friday, knocking the Cornhuskers out of Big Ten title contention and sending Wisconsin to the championship game.Tommy Armstrong started for Nebraska (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) despite a balky hamstring and was just 13 of 35 passing for 125 yards. Backup Ryker Fyfe, who broke his non-throwing wrist last week, didnt take a snap until the game had long been decided.Tommy wasnt 100 percent, Huskers coach Mike Riley said. I dont know if he was the healthiest...I dont know how much it would have made a difference (to play Fyfe).Nebraskas defense was just as bad as its offense.LeShun Daniels Jr. ran for 158 yards and two scores and George Kittle caught two TD passes for the Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3). They closed the regular season with three straight wins -- two of them over ranked opponents -- and scored their most points since a win over Purdue on Oct. 15.Iowa broke open what was expected to be a tight game with a 75-yard TD run by Akrum Wadley and a 77-yard touchdown throw from Beathard to Riley McCarron in the first quarter.We played as good as weve played all year, Beathard said. It just shows the fight and the resilience of this team.The Badgers are big favorites to beat Minnesota on Saturday anyway. But the Cornhuskers, who entered November as a legitimate playoff contender, hardly looked like one after being outscored 102-13 in their last two road games.We gave up big plays. I think we were horrible on third down, Riley said. Im really disappointed all the way around in all of us.THE TAKEAWAYNebraska: With so much to play for, its hard to believe that the Cornhuskers played so, so poorly. Nebraska gave up three plays of over 50 yards, and Armstrong was all over the place. The Huskers have lost three of their last four to Iowa, a fate sealed when they ran into Iowa kicker Keith Duncan on a field goal try in the fourth quarter -- allowing the Hawkeyes to go up 23 a few plays later.Iowa: The Hawkeyes didnt make it to the Big Ten title game either. But they did go 6-3 in the league, an impressive feat for a team that lost to North Dakota State of the FCS in its final nonconference game. Iowa also made its case for a high-profile bowl, which looked iffy to say the least after losing by 27 points at Penn State to start this month. You learn a lot about yourself in November, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.B1G TITLE GAME UPDATEWisconsin gets the Wests spot in Indianapolis next week because it beat Nebraska 23-17 (OT) in late October. In the East, Penn State might have the easiest path. The favored Nittany Lions need to beat Michigan State at home and hope favored Ohio State beats Michigan on Saturday. Ohio State needs a win and a Penn State loss -- and even if the Nittany Lions take the East the Buckeyes should be in good shape for the playoff at 11-1. Michigan needs to upset the hated Buckeyes.EXTRA POINTSDaniels became the first Iowa rusher with over 1,000 yards since 2011. ...Armstrongs 13-yard TD pass to Stanley Morgan snapped a streak of over 136 minutes without allowing a touchdown for Iowa. The Hawkeyes shut out Illinois 28-0 last week. ... Wadley had 105 yards rushing on just 11 carries. ... Armstrong made his 44th career start, setting a team record for a quarterback. Taylor Martinez, his predecessor, made 43 career starts.POLL IMPLICATIONSNebraska likely stays in the Top 25. But the Huskers could find themselves drop a few spots after their second straight poor showing on the road. Iowa, which reached as high as 13th earlier this year, could sneak back after beating the Huskers and Michigan in November.UP NEXTNebraska will head to a decent bowl game just a year after sneaking into a bid with just five wins.Iowa will find out which bowl game it will play in next Sunday.---More college football at www.collegefootball.ap.orgSwell Bottle Sale 17 Oz . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Cheap Swell Water Bottle Canada . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. http://www.swellbottlesaleclearance.com/swell-water-bottle-black-wholesale.html . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. sWell Marble Water Bottle Canada . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Swell Wood Bottle Sale . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses.NORMAN, Okla. -- A few weeks ago, things looked bleak for Oklahoma and coach Bob Stoops.The Sooners lost early games to Houston and Ohio State, and fans and some boosters were getting restless as the team tumbled out of the Top 25.Things still arent perfect, but Oklahoma bounced back with wins over TCU and Texas that put the 19th-ranked Sooners in great position early in the Big 12 season. Oklahoma (3-2, 2-0) is tied with Baylor for first place heading into Saturdays home game against Kansas State.Stoops said Monday that theres plenty of work to do.Were still too inconsistent, he said. I think were showing more and more signs of playing like were capable, but I think theres more there. Weve got to keep pushing to be better.The Sooners say theres no chance theyll overlook the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1), who are coming off a win over Texas Tech.Its the next game on our schedule, and all we can do is basically prepare like we prepared for Texas and everybody else that we have played, Oklahoma safety Steven Parker said. Its going to be on us. I dont think that were going to take Kansas State lightly at all because theyre not a bad team. Theyre a good football program, especially from Bill Snyder coaching those guys up. Were definitely going to have to be ready and have our hats on.The key differences between Oklahomas play in the losses and the victories over TCU and Texas are receiver Dede Westbrooks emergence as a star and Samaje Perines production in the running game.Westbrooks chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield is at an all-time high. Westbrook had 17 catches for 154 yards with no touchdowns the first three games. He has 17 catches for 390 yards and five touchdowns the ppast two games.ddddddddddddestbrook had been dealing with a hamstring pull that slowed him down early in the season, but hes fine now. He had 10 catches for an Oklahoma record 232 yards and three touchdowns against Texas and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.I dont know what the clock says, but he is as fast as he needs to be, Stoops said. He has great speed. Hes really hard to overthrow for that reason. Hes finally back to where hes feeling 100 percent and its obvious. He can turn short ones into big ones and he can get behind people as well. And hes really a sharp route runner, too.Westbrook finally has become comfortable replacing Sterling Shepard as Mayfields main target.I have a different role on the team now, Westbrook said. Just pretty much rise to the occasion, and make plays whenever they ask me to.Perine started the season slowly but now is the No. 2 rusher in the Big 12. He had just 149 yards in the first three games this season, then broke out with 98 yards and two touchdowns against TCU and followed with 214 yards on a career-high 35 carries and another two touchdowns against Texas.Stoops said Perine is working back from an ankle issue and getting close to his normal level of play.Hes physical, of course, and powerful, but you have to appreciate hes coming back to form now after that ankle -- just how he can sidestep people at that size, at 235 pounds, Stoops said. The other day, he carried the ball 35 times and did not have one lost yardage play. Thats hard to do.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP . ' ' '