Their 24-21 victory over Purdue on Saturday, highlighted by Jimmy Clausens 2-yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph with 24.8 seconds left, marked the latest the Irish have scored to win a game on the road since 1997, and the 72-yard drive was the longest by the Irish when they scored the game-winner in the last 25 seconds.

Coach Charlie Weis said the reason why the Irish could pull that game out was because the confidence they gained a week earlier when safety Kyle McCarthy had an interception at the 4 with 57 seconds left to seal Notre Dames 33-30 victory over Michigan State.

When Kyle made that play last week, the team said, Oh, something good can happen at the end of the game, Weis said Sunday night. I think that really the composure the team showed at the end of the (Purdue) game was excellent. Because normally on the sideline you could feel the deflated team. You never felt that at all.

The two straight last-minute wins come after a week earlier Michigans Tate Forcier threw a 5-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left to beat the Irish 38-34. So the Irish are 2-1 in games decided in the final minute.

Last season, the Irish had three games where they had a chance to win late and failed. Michael Floyd was tackled at the 7 against North Carolina in the final seconds and appeared to try to lateral the ball, but the Tar Heels recovered and held on for the 29-24 victory. Against Pittsburgh, the Irish led 17-3 at halftime and 24-17 with five minutes left but lost in four overtimes. The Irish blew a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 24-23 loss to Syracuse.

Weis said the Irish needed the tight victory against Michigan State.

Unfortunately the only way you learn the lesson is going through it and something good happening. Last week, I thought, was a turning point, he said.

Against the Boilermakers, the Irish kept their composure despite being without their best receiver who is out for the season with a broken collarbone, despite their best tailback sitting out with an injured ankle and despite Clausen missing much of the second half with a turf toe injury.

The Irish have more confidence than they did last year, Rudolph said. He said the Irish believed they were going to win even after the Boilermakers took the lead with 3:41 left.

There was no doubt. Who knows if last year we would have been able to go down in the fourth quarter down four points with two minutes left. But this time when the defense came off the field everyone was telling them, We got you guys. Were going to take care of it. You guys made a big play last week, its our turn this week. There was no one who doubted that we were going to do down the field and score.

Weis credited Clausen, saying hes so calm in the huddle that it helps other players remain confident.

He knew in his mind he was going to throw a touchdown pass. He just didnt know to who, Weis said.

Clausen said he had a simple message for his teammates in the huddle. I just said, Hey fellas, lets go. This is what we work hard for. Put the ball in our hands, lets take it down and score and win the game.

Clausen was 6 of 9 passing for 69 yards during the decisive drive. Weis said he can see Clausen has more confidence.

Hes always been a confident kid, but not with the air of confidence he has now. Its not just his confidence. Its everyones confidence in him. So its a combination of his confidence and the people who are playing with him, Weis said

Weis said Clausens toe is healthier now than it was a week ago and he expects Clausen to play Saturday against Washington. Hes not sure how much Clausen will practice this week. Hell give Clausen time off during the bye week after Washington.

Weis said tailback Armando Allen might have been able to play against Purude. He said he expects Allen to be ready to practice on Tuesday.

An MRI done Sunday revealed that Griffin has an isolated tear in his ACL. He sustained the injury in the first half of the Bears 68-13 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday night.

The Bears also lost senior defensive back and return specialist Mikail Baker to a knee injury. An MRI revealed an ACL tear and tears to his medial and lateral meniscus after he was hurt on special teams.

Griffin was injured when his leg bent awkwardly while being stopped for no gain on a fourth-down play the opening series of the game. He remained on the ground for several minutes, the silence broken only when Baylor students started chanting his name before he walked gingerly to the sideline.

Northwestern State drove for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead while Griffin was being tended to. He had his knee heavily wrapped, but didnt miss a snap before halftime and led the Bears to a 41-10 lead. Griffin was 13-of-19 passing for 226 yards with three TDs before watching the second half from the sideline.

Baylor coach Art Briles didnt return a message from The Associated Press left on his cell phone Sunday night. School officials said they didnt expect to have any comments from the coach or Griffin.

When asked after Saturday nights game to rate on a scale of 1-to-10 his level of concern when Griffin remained on the ground, Briles responded, Were stopping at 10? … I like winning football games.

Just moments earlier, Griffin had limped away from the podium after saying he wasnt concerned.

I played on it, so I should be able to play on it again, Griffin said after the game.

During his Sunday teleconference before the MRI had been done, Briles expressed hope that it was not anything major and said he was encouraged that Griffin had been able to finish the first half Saturday night.

Griffin accounted for 28 TDs (15 passing, 13 rushing) as an 18-year-old freshman last year. With him back for a second season, the Bears came in hoping for their first bowl since 1994. The 15-year drought matches Duke for the longest for a team playing in a Football Bowl Subdivision conference.

Blake Szymanski, a senior who was a starter before Griffin arrived on campus, took over after halftime against the Demons and was 3-of-5 for 58 yards and a touchdown. But he bruised his right shoulder when he was hit on a rush near the goal line.

Baylors training staff listed Szymanski, who had X-rays Sunday, as day to day.

Tailback Jay Finley, who missed Saturdays game with a sprained ankle, is probable for the Bears when they play their final non-conference game Saturday at home against Kent State.

The Big 12 opener is Oct. 10 at eighth-ranked Oklahoma.

The university’s board of governors unanimously approved the hiring of Tim Pernetti, who played tight end for the Scarlet Knights in the early 1990s and recently worked as executive vice president for content at CBS College Sports Network.

Pernetti, 38, replaces longtime athletic director Robert E. Mulcahy, who was fired at the end of last year, and will become the youngest athletic director in the Big East Conference. He has never served as an AD or college administrator.

“I was not interested in doing this kind of job anywhere but here,” Pernetti said Thursday.

Pernetti immediately faced questions about his ability to make decisions in light of his relationship with football coach Greg Schiano. Pernetti did not play under Schiano at Rutgers, but played a year under him at northern New Jersey’s Ramapo High School and has served as a radio game analyst for Rutgers football for the past eight years.

“Because so much has been built around football because it’s the big revenue-producing sport, my relationship with Greg is a positive,” Pernetti said. “There will be tough decisions, but knowing him the way I know him and he knows me, that will be very productive over time for the university.”

Schiano called Pernetti “a very seasoned businessman, and in this day and age that will be a real asset for the university.”

Schiano’s contract, which pays him about $1.6 million annually, was the focus of attention last year after a newspaper report revealed that a sports marketing firm had a separate deal that paid Schiano an additional $250,000 per year, with the payment guaranteed by Rutgers if sponsorships didn’t cover it.

As Schiano has transformed Rutgers’ football team from lightly regarded to one with four bowl appearances in the past four years, scrutiny of the program has increased, spurred by reports of off-the-books spending and other financial irregularities.

Within the past eight months, Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick announced the creation of a committee to review the athletic department’s internal controls, and the state comptroller’s office ordered an audit of the university’s contracting processes and an inquiry into an ongoing $102 million expansion of Rutgers Stadium.

Last fall, McCormick hired former Delaware State athletic director Richard J. Costello to fill the newly created position of deputy director of athletics-finance and administration.

Pernetti pledged to make the athletic department’s financial dealings more transparent.

“Nothing is more important to me,” he said. “Rutgers is a public institution, and a public institution needs to deliver on the front of transparency and communication of information. There will be financial accountability; we’ll be able to explain the why and the where.”

Pernetti beat out finalists Kelly Mehrtens, athletic director at UNC-Wilmington; and Akron athletic director Mack Rhoades.

“We were impressed by Tim’s commitment to academics, by his philosophy about the department’s relationship with the greater Rutgers community, his plans for expanding the revenues of the department and managing its finances, as well as his focus on strategic planning,” McCormick said.

West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said Thursday that the Mountaineers will travel to Baton Rouge, La., in 2010, and the Tigers will come to Morgantown in 2011.

LSU went 8-5 last season, beating Georgia Tech 38-3 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl a year after winning the national championship. West Virginia finished 9-4 after beating North Carolina 31-30 in the Meineke Bowl.

Pastilong also announced WVU will play Championship Subdivision schools Liberty in 2009, Coastal Carolina in 2010 and Norfolk State in 2011.

The school released salaries of Spurrier’s nine assistants and new strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald on Thursday after a request by The Associated Press and other media outlets.

Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward will earn the most of Spurrier’s six new hires at $275,000 a year. Right behind is Eric Wolford, the running game coordinator and offensive line coach who’ll earn $250,000.

First-year quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus will earn $140,000, tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Johnson “Jeep” Hunter $140,000 and running backs coach Jay Graham $110,000.

Fitzgerald will earn $128,000.

Tops of the staff remains assistant head coach Ellis Johnson, who heads up the Gamecock defense. Last fall, university trustees approved an improved financial package that brings him $350,000 a season. Johnson has said he will keep control of the defense, but surrendered the title so the Gamecocks could attract Ward from Arkansas after last season.

Among South Carolina’s returning staff, defensive line coach Brad Lawing will earn $200,000, same as receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr.

The head coach’s son is the only assistant who’s remained on his father’s staff through Spurrier’s first four seasons with the Gamecocks. Spurrier Jr. was given added play-calling duties last season.

Shane Beamer, the son of Virginia Tech coach Frank, will earn $165,000 as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.

Two years ago, Spurrier’s nine assistants earned a combined $1.326 million, according to contracts.

South Carolina won’t pay as much as Tennessee under new coach Lane Kiffin, whose staff will make a combined $3.3 million. That’s believed to be the highest amount in the Southeastern Conference.

Wolford came to South Carolina after two years at Arizona. Mangus was a walk-on quarterback for Spurrier at Florida and was most recently offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee.

Hunter last coached in 2007, the second of two seasons with Georgia Tech. He’s also coached at Memphis, Eastern Kentucky and Chattanooga.

Graham was one of Tennessee’s best runners during his college days. He coached at Miami of Ohio last season.

Fitzgerald headed Harvard’s strength programs since April 2005. Before that, he was at Maryland as an assistant strength coach for five years.

Henson did not practice on Saturday and coach Gary Patterson indicated on Sunday there’s a chance Henson won’t be on the field against the Broncos.

When asked if Henson would play Patterson said, “I don’t know about that yet, but there isn’t anything wrong with him.”

Henson, a senior from Longview, Texas, was a first-team all-Mountain West Conference selection this season, part of a TCU defense that ranked second in the country in total defense. Henson finished the season with 73 tackles and two interceptions in his first full season as a starter.

The Blue Devils on Sunday said they extended Cutcliffe’s contract through 2015. Terms were not released, as is customary at the private school.

Athletic director Kevin White called Cutcliffe “an elite player within the entire college football coaching community.”

By going 4-8 this season, Duke matched its win total from 2004-07. The Blue Devils started 3-1 and pushed their mark to 4-3 with a win at Vanderbilt, but ended the season with five straight losses in November.

Only minutes after his 67th reception of the season set a school record, Brown’s leg gave out unnaturally as he landed in the end zone during a long incompletion. The defender on the play, Tavares Williams, put his hands on his head and then gestured for help when he turned and saw Brown holding his leg, which dangled from the shin.

Brown writhed in pain as trainers raced to his side. He was placed on a stretcher and lifted onto a cart. He then sat up, receiving applause, as the cart headed into the tunnel in the Louisiana Superdome.

Southern Miss spokesman Jack Duggan said the injury was a lower leg fracture but could not immediately provide details on the severity.

Brown, a freshman, was a prized recruit last year and quickly became the Golden Eagle’s leading receiver, finishing the regular season with 66 catches for 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Newton was suspended from the team, spokesman Steve McClain said, and was being held in the Alachua County jail. He has been charged with felony counts of burglary, larceny and obstructing justice.

According to the University Police Department, Newton stole the laptop worth $1,700 and threw it out his dormitory window Friday when officers arrived to investigate the theft.

A student reported the computer stolen Oct. 16, according to the police report, and an investigation linked the laptop to Newton five days later when he allegedly used the machine to access the school’s network. The school identified the user name as “cnewton,” police said.

University police went to Newton’s dorm Friday, were invited inside and noticed the laptop on Newton’s desk. Officers left the room to confirm that the computer matched the serial code of the laptop reported stolen, according to the report. When they returned, it was gone.

According to police, the laptop had been painted black on the top and had “Cam Newton” written on the top in white paint. Officers found the computer behind a trash bin outside the dorm and learned that “Mr. Newton threw the computer out of his bedroom window,” the report said.

Newton, a sophomore from College Park, Ga., passed for 40 yards as Tim Tebow’s backup last year. He has been slowed by injuries this season – he sprained an ankle early in the season and injured his neck in a car accident earlier this month.

He has appeared in one game this season, completing one pass for 14 yards and rushing for 10 yards on five carries against Hawaii on Aug. 30.

Newton is the second Florida player with legal troubles this season. Backup cornerback Jacques Rickerson was kicked off the team two weeks after he was arrested and accused of slapping his girlfriend, choking her and then covering her face with a pillow. He was charged with felony battery.

No. 7 Penn State will play a veritable Big Ten championship game on Saturday when No. 17 Michigan State visits Happy Valley.

Win and the Nittany Lions clinch a spot at the Rose Bowl.

If the Spartans (9-2, 6-1) win, they’ll still need Ohio State to be upset by Michigan to secure the trip to Pasadena.

“This is probably the biggest game I’ve been in and all of us have played in since we’ve been here,” Penn State senior safety Anthony Scirrotto said. “These are the kind of games you come here to play.”

The Big Ten doesn’t play a true title game, and Penn State (10-1, 6-1) only joined the conference in 1993 after years as an independent.

So Saturday’s game will be the first time a championship will be on the line in the 48-year history of Beaver Stadium.

Still not enough drama?

Saturday could also be the 81-year-old Paterno’s last game at home.

His contract expires after this, his record 43rd season as head coach. Talks about his future won’t resume until some time after the bowl game, though both he and the school president insist Paterno doesn’t need a contract to keep working.

Hobbled by a sore hip that may require surgery next week, the feisty Paterno stays vague when talking about the future, though he’s never talked about quitting.

Paterno will work from the press box for Michigan State – as he’s done most of this season – and he’s not sure how soon he can get back to the sideline after surgery.

He has dropped hints of late, though, that he’s thinking about 2009.

The latest one came Friday night at a campus pep rally, during which his eyes appeared to tear up at times. The crowd yelled frantically after Paterno said into a microphone “When I’ve walked out of that stadium, when I can run out on that field, which I will do next year – run out on that field!”

The forecast for Saturday afternoon calls for temperatures in the upper 20s with snow showers possible and light winds.

Perfect weather for a running game. Scirrotto calls it “ground and pound” season, ideal for physical Big Ten football.

Ideal for a guy like Michigan State tailback Javon Ringer.

Third in the nation with 140.7 yards per game, Ringer has burned opponents for 20 rushing touchdowns. The senior hopes his class has laid the foundation for future success for the Spartans and second-year coach Mark Dantonio.

“The coaches were pretty smart when they said sooner or later we would be playing for a championship, because now it is coming true,” Ringer said. “This is not going to be a one-year wonder because there is so much talent behind our senior class, and Lord willing we will continue to be successful in the future.”

First there’s Penn State to take care of, though, no small task considering the Nittany Lions feature the Big Ten’s best rush defense (101.5 yards per game).

Defensive end Josh Gaines calls the 5-foot-9, 202-pound Ringer “explosive and stronger than an ox” running behind a big offensive line. Gaines was limited last week against Indiana because of a sore ankle, but that won’t keep the senior captain from the field this weekend.

“Oh yeah, I’m playing,” Gaines said. “The Big 10 championship? I’m playing for that.”

Most preseason prognosticators didn’t figure Michigan State-Penn State as a contest that could decide the conference representative in the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten schedule usually pits the two schools together in the last game of the regular season to decide the “Land Grant Trophy.”

The stakes are a bit higher this year.

Besides that, a sellout crowd of at least 109,000 is expected to rock Beaver Stadium to celebrate the final home game of Scirrotto, Gaines, receiver Derrick Williams and 14 other Penn State seniors.

“The atmosphere will be electric, I’m sure. It always is over there. It will be something I’m sure our players will remember for the rest of their lives,” Dantonio said.

A win for Penn State would allow the school to join Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State as programs with at least 800 wins. Paterno has guided the Nittany Lions to 382 victories, first among major college coaches.

“Penn State is always bringing in talent, and personally I don’t think Joe Paterno is going anywhere,” Ringer said. “People love to play for him … so this will not be a one-year wonder for them either.”

He just hopes it’s Michigan State, not Penn State, that ends up at the Rose Bowl.