EAST LANSING, Mich., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Terry Jackson II and Thomas Tapeh led a bruising ground attack Saturday that kept Minnesota alive in the Big Ten Conference race with a 28-7 victory over slumping Michigan State.
Jackson rushed for a career-high 238 yards on 29 carries and Tapeh added 147 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. The pair combined for all but five of the Golden Gophers' 390 ground yards.
Asad Abdul-Khaliq completed seven of 13 passes for 147 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes for Minnesota (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten), which posted its third straight victory.
The Golden Gophers, who lead the Big Ten in total defense, allowed just 280 total yards. Michigan State gained only 51 yards on the ground.
Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers caught six passes for 96 yards but was held out of the end zone for the second straight game. Last week, he had his NCAA record streak of 13 games with at least one touchdown reception snapped.
After the Spartans (3-4, 1-2) opened the scoring on David Richard's one-yard run two minutes into the game, the Golden Gophers pulled even on Abdul-Khaliq's 45-yard pass to Aaron Hosack with four minutes in the first period.
Dan Nystrom kicked field goals of 41 and 22 yards in the second quarter to give Minnesota a 13-7 halftime lead.
Minnesota made it 20-7 on Abdul-Khaliq's 27-yard strike to Tony Patterson with 9:27 left in the third quarter and capped the scoring on Tapeh's four-yard run just under seven minutes later.
Jeff Smoker completed 17 of 29 passes for 229 yards with an interception for the Spartans, who have lost two straight and four of their last five.
Minnesota has won three straight against Michigan State after losing 17 in a row to the Spartans, who lead the all-time series, 23-14.
