SPENCER PETRAS

When a team is coming off a season in which it had one of the worst offenses in the nation, all options are open to fix it. The battle this spring is between veteran starter Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla. Petras, who missed three games because of injury last season, has started 19 of the last 20 in which he's appeared.

Chris Rodriguez ran for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:48 to play, and No. 25 Kentucky rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 17 Iowa 20-17 in the Citrus Bowl.

The Michigan Wolverines are Big Ten champions for the first time since 2004 after a dominating 42-3 win over Iowa on Saturday in the title game. Michigan is now headed to the College Football Playoff, but first, here is our stock report from Saturday’s game. STOCK UPThird-down defenseMichigan’s defense was exceptional on third down, allowing just five conversions on 19 attempts. Michigan didn’t have many offensive standouts Saturday, but it incorporated nearly everyone in its game plan. He had a sack for 10 yards in the second quarter that led to a three-and-out and also finished with four tackles and two quarterback hurries.

Hassan Haskins ran for two second-half touchdowns and broke a school record as No. 2 Michigan captured its first Big Ten title in 17 years and a probable playoff berth with a 42-3 rout over No. 15 Iowa.

It has been 17 years since Michigan’s football program last won a Big Ten title. 15 Iowa (10-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.Continue to refresh this page for live updates for Saturday’s game. Led by a dominant run game, they rank second in the Big Ten in scoring and yards per game. Like Michigan with Hassan Haskins, Iowa leans heavily on running back Tyler Goodson, who has 238 carries.

Now, more than four months later, those guys will lead the second-ranked Wolverines back to town to play Big Ten West winner Iowa for the conference championship. After the victory, Harbaugh called it “just the beginning,” predicting a new era of Michigan football to come. And it that’s true, a win Saturday night to claim the Big Ten championship, and likely a spot in the College Football Playoff, is a must. In both of its losses this season, Iowa couldn’t crack 100 yards rushing. After a slow start to the season, Michigan really cranked up the turnover machine in Big Ten play, forcing three against Wisconsin and two each in wins over Nebraska and Northwestern.

Michigan's running game vs. Iowa's run defense.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was asked point blank on Tuesday what it would take for the Hawkeyes to beat Michigan in Saturday’s Big Ten football championship. Michigan is a 10.5-point favorite in this game -- not an astronomical number, but large for a conference championship tilt. Ferentz, continuing his answer to the aforementioned question during a press conference in Iowa City, referenced Iowa’s game against Michigan in 2016. “I told the team the fun part about these games is you really have to be at your best each and every play,” Ferentz said. He had three interceptions this season; Iowa will miss his 49 games’ worth of experience.

Spencer Petras will be the starting quarterback when No. 15 Iowa plays second-ranked Michigan in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday night.

Spencer Petras plunged 2 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 left to give 17th-ranked Iowa its first lead, and the Hawkeyes came back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Nebraska 28-21.

Iowa quarterback Alex Padilla is described by coach Kirk Ferentz as “even-keeled.” Padilla threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 19 Iowa withstood three fourth-quarter comeback attempts to beat Minnesota 27-22 and keep the bronze pig trophy for the seventh year in a row.

Alex Padilla got his first opportunity to play meaningful snaps for Iowa and did enough to impress coach Kirk Ferentz.

Alex Padilla could feel the jitters when he got the call to go into the game. Padilla took over for the banged-up Spencer Petras and led three scoring drives, Tyler Goodson ran for 141 yards and a touchdown and No. 19 Iowa beat Northwestern 17-12 on Saturday night to stop a two-game losing streak. “Definitely some nerves,” Padilla said.

No. 5 Michigan State visits Purdue in the game of the week in the Big Ten.

Graham Mertz scored on two quarterback sneaks and threw a touchdown pass to help Wisconsin trounce No. 9 Iowa 27-7 on Saturday for its fourth consecutive victory.

Aidan O’Connell threw for 374 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, David Bell had 240 receiving yards, and Purdue continued its recent mastery over No. 2 Iowa with a 24-7 win.

Spencer Petras threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Nico Ragaini to complete No. 3 Iowa’s comeback from a two-touchdown deficit, No. 4 Penn State’s offense did next to nothing after quarterback Sean Clifford was knocked out of the game and the Hawkeyes held on for a bruising 23-20 victory Saturday.

Spencer Petras threw for three touchdowns and ran for two and No. 5 Iowa took advantage of seven Maryland turnovers in a 51-14 victory.

Spencer Petras threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns and No. 5 Iowa needed a second-half comeback to defeat Colorado State 24-14.

A quick glance at the statistics would indicate Iowa's Spencer Petras is an average Big Ten quarterback. One number pops out, though, and illustrates a major reason the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes (3-0) have won nine straight games. The second-year starter hasn’t thrown an interception since early in the second quarter of the Nov. 27 game against Nebraska, a streak of 22 quarters entering Saturday's final nonconference game against Colorado State (1-2).

Iowa running back Tyler Goodson slowly worked his way into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2019.

Defense has led No. 5 Iowa to its highest ranking since 2015.

Oregon and Iowa are the big movers in The Associated Press college football poll after road wins over top-10 opponents.

Nine of the 14 Big Ten football teams appear set at quarterback heading into the fall.

Two plays later, Smith was running after a catch when Michigan State safety Tre Person forced a fumble, but the ball bounced out of bounds before being recovered. “Tips and overthrows – we’ve got to get those on defense,” first-year Michigan State coach Mel Tucker said on Tuesday. The Spartans generated zero turnovers in a win at Michigan and last week’s loss at Iowa. The Spartans rank 120th out of 123 teams in the nation in turnover margin at an average of minus-2.33 per game. They’re not just going to happen, you’re going to have to force them.”Related Michigan State football stories:Mel Tucker’s second look at Michigan State’s loss at Iowa wasn’t pretty3-star Florida CB Steffan Johnson commits to Michigan StateIndiana, ranked in top 10 for first time in 51 years, heads to Michigan State with ‘earmuffs and blinders’Why Oak Park 4-star DT Rayshaun Benny chose Michigan State over Michigan, othersMichigan State looks to respond to ‘pain and pressure’ after blowout loss at Iowa

What happens if an outbreak hits a team’s quarterback room? “Obviously this year there’s some things that will be unique,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said Monday without specifically discussing his players’ test results. “I think there certainly were those questions after the decision was made,” Ohio State team physician Jim Borchers said last week. And that’s all we really paid attention to.”Big Ten protocols say that athletes who test positive through point-of-contact daily testing must take a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result. While Wisconsin awaits answers, Big Ten teams continue reminding quarterbacks about the potential risks inherent in this unusual season.