Michigan State

Michigan State took a big step Saturday toward a spot in the Big Ten's first title game. Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and the 13th-ranked Spartans (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took a 37-21 win over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City to take control of the conference's Legends Division race. Michigan State took a commanding 31-7 lead with two touchdowns in a 36-second stretch late in the second quarter. B.J. Cunningham followed Le'Veon Bell's 25-yard TD run with a 22-yard touchdown catch to put Michigan State up by 24. The Spartans can now earn a spot in the Dec. 3 Big Ten title game with wins over Indiana and Northwestern.

Career win No. 600 for veteran Villanova women's basketball coach Harry Perretta is likely to come quicker than anyone thought. Gaining a major upset Friday afternoon on the opening day of the season, Perretta's 34th on the Main Line, the Wildcats shocked Michigan State, 75-64, in the first round of the Iona Tip-Off tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y., to bring his record to 599-378. Villanova will try to give Perretta the impressive milestone Saturday afternoon, when the Wildcats meet the host Gaels at 2:30 p.m. at Hynes Athletics Center for the tournament title.

1. Louisiana State (8-0). Beat Auburn, 45-10. Good thing Tigers were missing some bullets. Next: Nov. 5 at Alabama. 2. Alabama (8-0). Beat Tennessee, 37-6. Let the countdown begin. Next: Nov. 5, vs. LSU. 3. Stanford (7-0). Beat Washington, 65-21. Beat USC by 2 at home last year, by 34 in LA in 09. Saturday: at Southern Cal. 4. Oklahoma State (7-0). Beat Missouri, 45-24. Beat Baylor by 27 at home a year ago. Saturday: vs. Baylor. 5. Boise State (7-0). Beat Air Force, 37-26.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's Keith Nichol caught a 44-yard Hail Mary on the game's final play Saturday night for a tie-breaking touchdown that gave the No. 15 Spartans a stunning 37-31 win over No. 4 Wisconsin. With the game tied and 4 seconds left, Kirk Cousins rolled out to his right and threw one last pass. The ball went into the end zone but caromed off Michigan State receiver B.J. Cunningham's face mask back to Nichol, who caught it just outside the end zone and struggled for the goal line.

BRENNEN GLASS could not escape Kurt Coleman. Not on Sunday evening, after Coleman intercepted Rex Grossman three times in Washington. Not in their matchup 7 years ago, when Coleman intercepted Glass three times in a high school battle as juniors. "I was watching 'SportsCenter,' and there he was, talking about it," Glass said Tuesday night. "I had, like, four interceptions that season. And he had three of them. " Coleman's three picks Sunday sparked an Eagles win and earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in only his sixth NFL start.

Here is the Daily News' weekly Top 15 in college football: 1. Louisiana State (7-0). Beat Tennessee, 38-7. Lost at Auburn last year by 7. Saturday: vs. Auburn. 2. Alabama (7-0). Beat Mississippi, 52-7. Hasn't lost to Tennessee since 2006. Saturday: vs. Tennessee. 3. Oklahoma (6-0). Beat Kansas, 47-17. Has beaten Texas Tech seven straight. Saturday: vs. Texas Tech. 4. Wisconsin (6-0). Beat Indiana, 59-7.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. "A clean sweep!" Worthy yelled. In his four years with the Spartans, Worthy has never lost to Michigan. He and the rest of Michigan State's defensive line helped extend that run Saturday, shutting down Denard Robinson and the 11th-ranked Wolverines in a 28-14 victory. The 23d-ranked Spartans have won four straight against Michigan for the first time since 1959-62, equaling Michigan State's longest streak in the series.

Big Ten The conference still boasts three of the 13 undefeated teams remaining in the FBS, and two of them will be in for tough games Saturday. No. 11 Michigan travels to East Lansing and a meeting with archrival and 23d-ranked Michigan State, while 16th-ranked Illinois hosts an Ohio State team still reeling from having blown a 21-point lead in last week's loss to Nebraska. All five games Saturday will be intradivisional matchups.    Conference      All Games    Legends W   L   Pts   OP   W   L   Pts   OP    Michigan.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Cierre Wood ran for two touchdowns, freshman George Atkinson III returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score, and Robert Blanton had a late interception Saturday as Notre Dame beat No. 15 Michigan State 31-13 for the Fighting Irish's first win. The Spartans (2-1), who stunned Notre Dame in overtime a year ago with a game-winning TD pass off a fake field goal, tried to surprise the Irish with another fake near the end of the first half. Notre Dame (1-2) was ready this time.

Penn State will enjoy bye weeks before it takes on Ohio State in 2013 and 2014, according to conference schedules announced Wednesday for both seasons by the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions will meet the Buckeyes on Oct. 26, 2013, in Columbus, and Nov. 15, 2014, in State College, Pa. The two schedules find the Lions playing Wisconsin in the final game of both seasons, in Madison in 2013 and at home in 2014. The Big Ten championship game will be contested the following weekend. After 18 years of playing Michigan State for the Land Grant Trophy, the Lions will not find the Spartans on either of the new schedules, extending the hiatus of the series to four years.