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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- No. 6 Wisconsin did everything it could to get back in the College Football Playoff chase Saturday.Its probably going to take more than a blowout at Purdue.T.J. Watt returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown, and the Badgers scored 35 points in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half of a 49-20 victory against the lowly Boilermakers.Now comes the hard part: Figuring out if Wisconsin belongs in college footballs Final Four.When we looked at our schedule, we thought that there wasnt one that we couldnt win, quarterback Alex Hornibrook said. We thought we would win every one of them. We did a good job focusing from week to week.To have any chance, the Badgers must keep winning. Wisconsin (9-2, 6-2, No. 7 CFP) has won five straight and can clinch the Big Tens West Division title with a win next weekend.Two more victories, and the Badgers would be right in the mix. But to pull that off, they are going to need a better start than they had against Purdue, when they were hampered by a stagnant ground game, ineffective passing attack and struggling defense.Then coach Paul Chryst inserted fifth-year senior Bart Houston at QB, and everything changed. The opening-day starter immediately led Wisconsin on an 87-yard drive that ended with Alec Ingolds 1-yard plunge for a 7-3 lead. Watt picked off David Blough on the next offensive play.Bradrick Shaw scored on a 7-yard run with 3:03 left in the half. After another Blough interception, Houston hooked up with a wide-open Ingold on a 19-yard TD pass and Shaw added a 33-yard TD run in the last minute of the half.All the Boilermakers (3-8, 1-7) mustered during the stretch was a 75-yard TD pass from Blough to DeAngelo Yancey.I have to do my job, Blough said. I cant do my job just half the time. The turnovers hurt. We cant turn it over and expect to be in the game against one of the top teams in the country. With those two interceptions, it was one big joke with one batted ball and then another batted ball.Corey Clement rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown for Wisconsin.THE TAKEAWAYWisconsin: The Badgers didnt get the help they needed to wrap up the West, but the win certainly keeps their playoff hopes alive.Purdue: Theres one week to go in the Boilermakers dismal season. But 18 players and probably most, if not all, of the coaching staff said goodbye to Ross-Ade Stadium in front of a scant crowd.T.J.S SWATSWisconsin linebackers Watt and T.J. Edwards took turns celebrating. In the first half, both deflected Blough passes, came down with the ball and each turnover led to a touchdown. On Purdues opening possession of the second half, Edwards and Watt also came up with sacks of Blough.What a play by T.J. (Watt), Badgers coach Paul Chryst said. To knock it down is a really good play. To get a pick is a really good play. To do both that changed (the game).KEY NUMBERSWisconsin: The Badgers entered with 14 interceptions and padded that total with three more in the first half, giving them seven in the past two weeks. ... Wisconsin has produced a 100-yard rusher in six straight games. ... The defense has allowed only five touchdowns in five road games this season. ... Clement became the 17th rusher in school history to top the 1,000-yard mark. ... Houston was 5 of 6 for 102 yards with one TD, and Hornibrook was 7 of 9 for 89 yards with one TD pass.Purdue: Blough was 14 of 30 for 206 yards with two TDs. Yancey caught six passes for 155 yards and two scores. ... After being outscored 114-17 in the second halves of the past four games, the Boilermakers had only a 14-10 deficit in the final 30 minutes Saturday. ... Defensive lineman Jake Replogle returned from a concussion to play in his home finale.UP NEXTWisconsin: Will try to keep the Paul Bunyan Axe for a 13th consecutive year when it hosts Minnesota.Purdue: Hopes to snap a three-game losing streak against rival Indiana. The Boilermakers havent lost the Old Oaken Bucket in four straight years since the 1940s.---For more college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Fake Hurricanes Jerseys . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. The thoughts lingered with Mason Rudolph for a while after Sept. 10.You play the what-if game in your head, said Rudolph, the Oklahoma State quarterback whose fourth-down throwaway as time expired in Week 2 should have secured a 27-24 win for the Cowboys over Central Michigan.What if the Mid-American Conference officials, after flagging Rudolph for intentional grounding, had correctly ended the game instead of awarding an untimed down to CMU? What if Rudolph had killed the clock without throwing the ball?What if the Big 12 replay crew -- later suspended for the mistake, alongside the MAC officials -- had taken action before Cooper Rush stepped up in the pocket and heaved a pass 41 yards to Jesse Kroll, who pitched to Corey Willis for the final 10 yards of an unthinkable, game-winning score?And what if all else remained intact -- an uncertainty, to be sure -- after an Oklahoma State victory over the Chippewas, leading to Saturday, when the No. 10 OSU (9-2, 7-1 Big 12) visits ninth-ranked Oklahoma (9-2, 8-0) for the league title and an ever-dwindling shot at the College Football Playoff?You know, thats life, Rudolph said, and youve got to move on. We moved and put it behind us.But have they?Coach Mike Gundy, in nearly the same breath as saying this week that hes not paid any attention to the potential playoff ramifications of the early-season game, mentioned that multiple NFL teams had recently won in the way OSU attempted against Central Michigan.I told the team that I consider that a win -- and I always will, Gundy said Monday. But it was a great life lesson for them. They handled it the right way, and theyve done very well since.After the Cowboys stomped TCU for a seventh consecutive victory, Gundy said he believed that Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, chair of CFP selection committee, was playing poker and that Hocutt views Oklahoma State as a 10-win team.Hocutt has indicated otherwise.I thought we put a committee together to eliminate the computer, Gundy said later, so the humans could make decisions based on actual game situations. And so, I would think without a computer involved, that it would benefit [Oklahoma State].Fact is, it has not benefited the Cowboys. At least not yet..ddddddddddddIf Oklahoma State beats the Sooners and there are upsets in the Pac-12 and ACC title games, perhaps the nature of the Week 2 loss -- combined with a Big 12 title -- would help OSU with the committee when compared to a two-loss Big Ten champion, Colorado and Michigan.Among that four-team mix, from which no possible member currently ranks below the Cowboys, Oklahoma State would have to finish in the top two.But what if Oklahoma State, instead, was 11-1 and had not given the committee reason to consider Week 2?I feel like everybody on the team kind of had that same process of thinking, running back Chris Carson said. We all thought, What if something different had happened and we won that [CMU] game? Its something thats on my mind when you see a team with one loss going to the playoff.But its not going to help us to go back and think about it.And thats where Gundy has succeeded most. Despite his own public comments in the past two weeks, the coach closed the matter with his players in mid-September.He told us to come back hot, Rudolph said, bring the fire back into it.Safety Jordan Sterns said the Cowboys may have gained focus as a result of the Week 2 loss. In fact, whos to say that Oklahoma State, without that setback, would have outlasted Pitt and Texas Tech or come from behind in the second half to win two Big 12 games?Coach Gundy did a great job, Sterns said, of saying, Hey you guys played hard. Thats all we can ask for. He told us not to hang our heads. It was all about how we responded. We worked too hard to let a game like that distract us from what our goal was.Remember, Saturday is big. A win over Oklahoma would give the Cowboys their second conference title in 41 seasons.This is for a ring, Sterns said. This is for some jewelry, man.Gundy hinted that he might soon have more to say about the playoff impact of Week 2.Its a non-factor until we play the last game this Saturday, the coach said.And then? Even if the Cowboys win, the chances are good that theyll be left only to ponder the two words that danced in the head of their quarterback.What if? ' ' '