MINNEAPOLIS — Jake Rudock threw for one touchdown and ran for another and Iowa beat Minnesota on both sides of the ball in a 23-7 victory on Saturday.

Mark Weisman rushed for 147 yards on 24 carries, and Mike Meyer made three of his four field goal attempts to help the Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0) start the Big Ten with a bang. After losing their opener to Northern Illinois, they’ve outscored their last two opponents 82-10.

Senior linebackers Christian Kirksey, James Morris and Anthony Hitchens led a stifling effort on defense, including interceptions by Kirksey and Morris of Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson. Nelson hadn’t played in two weeks because of an injury, but he started ahead of Mitch Leidner for the Gophers (4-1, 0-1).

Nelson lost 18 yards on nine rushes and completed 12 of 24 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown to Derrick Engel, who had 67 yards on five catches.

w/ Chris Parks

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their first NL Central title in four years, beating the Chicago Cubs 7-0 Friday night behind the strong pitching of Lance Lynn and home runs by David Freese and Matt Holliday.

St. Louis (95-65) has won six of seven and is tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NL. They are assured of home-field advantage when the NL division series starts Thursday.

Adam Wainwright (18-9) was moved up to start Saturday, putting the St. Louis ace on track to start his team’s postseason opener against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Class 3-A, District 1

• Denison 21 @ Atlantic 14
• Harlan 28 @ Glenwood 24
• Perry 21 @ Creston 28
• ADM 3 @ Lewis Central 13

Class 2-A, District 8

• Red Oak 34 @ Clarinda Academy 0
• Shenandoah 26 @ Treynor 41
• Clarinda 34 @ OA-BCIG 27
• Kuemper Catholic 32 @ Greene County 0

Class 1-A, District 8

• Tri-Center 13 @ St. Albert 42
• Nodaway Valley 47 @ West Central Valley 12
• Missouri Valley 12 @ Panorama 65

Class A, District 7

• Bedford  0 @ Audubon 45
• Woodward Academy 20 @ Guthrie Center 34
• Earlham 28 @ Madrid 66
• Martensdale-St. Marys 8 @ Woodward-Granger 22

Class A, District 8

• Riverside 35 @ Underwood 13
• East Mills 0 @ Logan-Magnolia 16
• Griswold 23 @ Westwood 6
• A-H-S-T 62 @ West Monona 0

Eight Man, District 6

• Ankeny Christian 20 @ East Union 48
• Colo-Nesco 12 @ Lamoni 68
• Murray 54 @ Adair-Casey 85

Eight Man, District 7

• Exira/EHK 47 @ Glidden-Ralston 7
• Coon Rapids-Bayard 55 @ West Harrison 7
• Boyer Valley 54 @ Ar-We-Va 6

Eight Man, District 8

• Woodbine 21 @ Sidney 57
• Fremont-Mills 56 @ Stanton 20
• Essex 36 @ CAM 66
• Southwest Valley 47 @ Lenox 16

w/ Jim Field

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Girls Team Scoring:

1. Griswold  46
2. Panorama 69
3. Audubon 94

Girls Individuals:

1. Rebekah Topham (Griswold)
2. Destiny Scar (Nodaway Valley)
3. Michelle Mumm (Tri-Center)
4. Megan Deist (Audubon)

Boys Team Scoring:

1. Riverside  40
2. Panorama  50
3. Tri-Center  104

Boys Individuals:

1. Brandon Sipherd (Riverside)
2. Sam Bassett (Panorama)
3. Brady Ryun (Riverside)
4. Tim Brink (Riverside)
5. Mitchell Nelson (Audubon)

 Hawkeye 10:

• (3-1) St. Albert 25-25-23-25 Wahoo Bishop Neumann 9-20-25-15

Western Iowa:

• (3-1) Griswold 25-23-25-25 AHST 11-25-22-19
• (3-0) Missouri Valley 25-25-25 Tri-Center 22-15-21
• (3-1) Underwood 25-15-25-25 IKM-Manning 17-25-11-19
• (3-0) Audubon 25-25-25 Riverside 14-19-22

Rolling Valley:

• (3-0) Adair-Casey 25-25-25 West Harrison 15-14-8
• (3-1) Ar-We-Va 26-18-25-25 Exira/EHK 24-25-17-12

Others:

• (3-1) Madrid 25-25-24-25, Panorama 21-21-26-19
• (2-0) Lenox 26-25 Essex 24-16
• (2-0) Nishnabotna 25-25 Lenox 18-13

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Sam Richardson completed 26 of 41 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Aaron Wimberly ran for 137 yards on 19 carries to help Iowa State beat Tulsa 38-21 on Thursday night.

Jeff Woody had for three short scores, and the Cyclones took advantage of four Tulsa turnovers to improve to 1-2. Tulsa dropped to 1-3.

Tulsa quarterback Cody Green lost control twice on exchanges with a running back in the first half, then dropped a ball behind him attempting to pass on the first possession of the second half. He was replaced a series later by redshirt freshman Dane Evans, who failed to generate any offense. Green returned in the fourth quarter, throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Roberson before being intercepted on his next possession.

Green finished 18 of 31 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and the interception.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Last year, Minnesota finished its nonconference schedule without a loss. Then the Gophers were beaten badly by rival Iowa.

They’re in the same situation now, though their four wins were more decisive than last season. They host the Hawkeyes on Saturday, trying to win the Floyd of Rosedale trophy after surrendering it last fall.

The bronze pig has been awarded to the winner of this rivalry since 1935, and this will be the 107th time that Iowa and Minnesota have played in football. The first meeting was in 1891.

The Hawkeyes lost their opener to Northern Illinois but have been solid since, beating Western Michigan last week 59-3. They’re relying on their usual power running game, with Mark Weisman leading the nation with 95 carries.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs’ backup tight end has few rivals when it comes to facial hair. He’s not doing too bad at catching the football, either.

Sean McGrath is quickly becoming known for his gnarly whiskers, and a hero to Chiefs fans for the way he’s filled in for banged-up starters Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce.

A product of Division II Henderson State, McGrath was claimed just before the season and has filled in admirably. He had the first two catches of his NFL career two weeks ago against Dallas, and last week had four catches for 31 yards in a win over Philadelphia.

Then there’s the facial hair, which sprouts out of his chinstrap at all sorts of crazy angles. McGrath has been growing it since St. Patrick’s Day and has no plans to trim it soon.