Reviews: ND-PU, UW chokes at UM

Games I watched from 3:30-7 p.m.:
Notre Dame-Purdue (NBC)
Michigan-Wisconsin (ESPN)

Michigan 27, No. 8 Wisconsin 25
Badger head coach Bret Bielema never lost with a half-time lead--until today. Michigan stormed back from 19 points down, scoring 27 unanswered second-half points. This Wolverines team totaled 21 total yards--yes, total yards--threw the first two periods. But I'm not sure which team came out of the locker room for the third quarter. The UM defense was decent, but really came on late, including a pick-six to put the Wolves up by one in the fourth. Let's be realistic about all this, though. Wisconsin stopped playing, just as much as Michigan woke up. The Badgers settled in on their lead and fell asleep. Sure, they had a good run at the end, but there was no excuse for blowing a 19-7 lead after three quarters. Expect this game to be replayed years from now as a Big Ten's Greatest Games, and really shakes things up in the Big Ten.

Notre Dame 38, Purdue 21
The Irish win today could signal the turning point this program needed under Charlie Weis. I'm not completely sold on Notre Dame yet, but they really took it to Purdue, especially in the second half. Curtis Painter had a good day statistically, but the offense as a whole never got into a good rhythm. That was partly due to John Tenuta's blitzing ND defense, but the Boilermakers should be better than that. Last week's win over Central Michigan looks more like a stroke of luck now.

*Late tonight: No. 12 Penn State vs. No. 21 Illinois.