Iowa tops Purdue, 31-21

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Iowa notched its first road win of the year behind the stellar three-headed attack of James Vandenberg, Marvin McNutt and Marcus Coker, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 31-21.

Vandenberg passed for 273 yards and 3 TDs, two of which fell into McNutt's hands. McNutt set the school record for single-season TD grabs with his 11th and 12th of the year, finishing with 157 yards on 9 catches against the Boilermakers.

Coker racked up 139 yards on a workmanlike 30 carries for the Hawkeyes (7-4, 4-3), who were 0-3 on the road entering Saturday's contest.

You can catch more post-game analysis on blogs by The Gazette's Marc Morehouse, Mike Hlas and Scott Dochterman.

Follow Morehouse at http://thegazette.com/category/blogs/on-iowa/

See what Hlas thinks at http://thegazette.com/category/blogs/the-hlog/

Or step into Doc's office at http://thegazette.com/category/blogs/docs-office/

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THE GAZETTE.COM PICK ‘EMS

Week 12

Iowa at Purdue

Marc Morehouse - Purdue has a giant drum. It's so big Neil Young and Crazy Horse used it as a tour bus in the ‘70s. Iowa 31, Purdue 27

Mike Hlas - Directions to West Lafayette: Go to Lafayette. Turn west. Iowa 28, Purdue 26

Nick Pugliese - Following the up, down, up, down pattern of this Iowa season ... Iowa 24, Purdue 21

John Campbell - Every time Iowa has lost this year they have won the next week. That trend overrides the road losing trend. Iowa 27, Purdue 24

Beth Malicki - Arrests are down by half in Iowa City on game days this year. That gives fans carte blanche to mess up West Lafayette. Iowa 24, Purdue 17

Bob Brooks - Hawks are favored by three at Ross-Ade. No reason to think they can't get the job done. Iowa 21, Purdue 17

J.R. Ogden – Will have a hard time picking the Hawks again this season unless they find a QB who can make good decisions on the run. Purdue 28, Iowa 17

Jeff Johnson – Name two average teams in an average conference. Purdue 28, Iowa 20

Rob Gray – Boilers need a win to feel good about bowl chances. Hawkeyes need to prove they can win away from Kinnick. Darn near a push. Cue Coker and 200-plus on ground. Iowa 31, Purdue 27

Jeff Linder – Up a week, down the next. Guess the Hawks are due for up. Iowa 30, Purdue 20

James Steward – Hope you didn't lose your lunch last week. The roller coaster ride continues. Iowa 27, Purdue 17

Scott Saville –The Hawkeyes have struggled on the road losing five straight, but the Hawks are good at rebounding from tough losses. Iowa 31, Purdue 28

John Sears – The hate for Purdue is boiling over. The rivalry is one of the best ever, it dates all the way back to … Iowa 31, Purdue 21

Mike Lauthen (from The Gazette's Facebook page) – Iowa will win a close one. Iowa 27, Purdue 21

Nebraska at Michigan

Morehouse - Why did Bruce Springsteen make a record called “Nebraska”? Conversely, why hasn't Ted Nugent made an album called “Cozad”? Nebraska 28, Michigan 17

Hlas - It's the Cornhuskers against the Maize and Blue. Maize is corn. These are what I like to call fun facts. Michigan 28, Nebraska 26

Pugliese - Will Cornhuskers get caught looking ahead to next week's game against Hawkeyes? Nah. Nebraska 35, Michigan 28

Campbell - Devaney vs Schembechler. Now that would have been a Legends Division game. Michigan 31, Nebraska 30 (OT)

Malicki - This week I'm sending these picks from the ER. The brains of this operation slipped a disc and he can't sit, walk or drive. A 37 year old newborn. Nebraska 28, Michigan 27

Brooks - The Wolves look more like the Michigan of yesterday. Coach Hoke has them playing much better defense. At the Big House, they have enough to take Nebraska to the woodshed. Michigan 24, Nebraska 17

Ogden – Cornhuskers are just warming up. Nebraska 17, Michigan 10

Johnson – Name two more average teams in an average conference. Michigan 21, Nebraska 14

Gray – I doubted Big Red early this season. No more. Tyler Martinez will outplay Denard Robinson. And Huskers' Ameer Abdullah will take a kickoff to the house. Nebraska 27, Michigan 17

Linder –The battle for second in the “M's, N's and Iowa division”. Michigan 35, Nebraska 31

Steward – No chance that Michigan is looking ahead to the Buckeyes. Go Blue. Michigan 31, Nebraska 24

Saville – I hate picking road teams, but Nebraska is a better team. Nebraska 34, Michigan 28

Sears –The battle of running QBs. T-Magic vs. Shoelace. The blackshirts will have trouble slowing down Denard in the Big House. Michigan 27, Nebraska 17

Lauthen – Michigan will beat Nebraska. Michigan 35, Nebraska 21

Harvard at Yale

Morehouse - Thurston Howell III, Cher and Cookie Monster. Which one didn't attend Yale? Yale 34, Harvard 14

Hlas - Finally, my alma mater gets its due here. Oh, how I long for Harvard Square. The Lampoon. The Regatta. The Hasty Pudding Theatricals. John Harvard's Brewhouse. And beating those punks from Yale within an inch of their lives. Harvard 70, Yale 0

Pugliese - On my Bucket List of things to do, this isn't one of them. Harvard, 14, Yale 13

Campbell - Yale quarterback bypasses Rhodes Scholar interview to play in Thee Game. Malicki and I never had to make a decision like that. At least I didn't. Yale 45, Harvard 15

Malicki - I never applied to an Ivy League school. My state education worked pretty good. Get it? Yale 17, Harvard 14

Brooks - This is too high class for me. But Harvard is having a great year. Yale is having a winning season, Harvard 33, Yale 28

Ogden – I always wait to do my picks last so I can steal ideas from others, and who should win. Harvard 21, Yale 20

Johnson – I applied to get into Harvard. Got a rejection letter that was all wet. Assumed it was tears from everyone there laughing so hard. Yale 29, Harvard 28

Gray – Battle of the Brains - with a twist. Yalie QB Patrick Witt, an NFL prospect, chose to stick with team over Rhodes Scholarship interview. Won't matter. Harvard 38, Yale 21

Linder –Lots of smart guys in shoulder pads. Harvard 24, Yale 17

Steward – We all know that The Game is Michigan-OSU. But once upon a time, this was it. Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29 (not a typo, Google it)

Saville –Smartest team will win. Harvard 28, Yale 21

Sears – The Yale QB was forced to pick between playing against Harvard or interviewing for a Rhode scholarship. He chose the game. I once had to choose between mint chip or chocolate fudge ice cream. I went with mint chip. Yale 25, Harvard 24

Lauthen – Harvard will win. Harvard 27, Yale 17