k just a bit of the swagger out an otherwise dominant afternoon.W

EVANSTON, Ill. -- It wasnt just about building on a huge victory and a return to the Top 10 for No. 8 Wisconsin. The Badgers wanted to end their recent struggles against Northwestern.To that end, they also succeeded.Corey Clement ran for 106 yards and a touchdown, Jazz Peavy scored on a 46-yard run and Wisconsin beat Northwestern 21-7 on Saturday.Conor Sheehy forced a big fumble when he sacked Clayton Thorson with the Wildcats (4-5, 3-3 Big Ten) threatening early in the fourth quarter.That led to Clements 2-yard TD run, making it a 14-point game and preserving the third straight win for the Badgers (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 8 CFP). They went from beating Nebraska in overtime to picking up a rare win at Northwestern.It was just one of those things where I really wanted to beat this team and Im glad we got to do that, Peavy said.Northwestern had won six of 10 and four straight at Ryan Field against Wisconsin.The Wildcats beat the Badgers by six at home in 2014 and came away with a 13-7 victory at Camp Randall Stadium last year in a game where three Wisconsin touchdowns were negated by calls from the officials, who had snowballs thrown at them as they left the field.We really had to show who the best team was today and we didnt want a referee to make the game time decision at the end, said Clement, who had 32 carries -- three shy of his career high.Peavys 46-yarder in the second quarter was the first rushing touchdown of his career. He also had 73 yards receiving and a 24-yard punt return.Alex Hornibrook played most of the game and completed 11 of 19 passes for 92 yards, and the Badgers rolled up 333 yards while dominating the and time of possession (40:25-19:35).I thought there was some really good things that we did, coach Paul Chryst said. I thought that we were fairly consistent running the football. Defensively, I know they had the drive at the end of the first half, but I thought we did a lot of really good things defensively against what we thought was a really good Northwestern team.The Wildcats lost again to a Top 10 team after coming up short in a four-point loss at Ohio State last week.Thorson went 28 of 52 for 277 yards and a touchdown.Austin Carr added 132 yards receiving, including a 13-yard TD late in the first half, but Justin Jackson ran for 42 yards.I think were just tired of being close, Carr said. We want to push through. ... When we beat ourselves, we cant beat two teams in the same day -- especially against such a good team as Wisconsin.WINNING AT RYANWisconsin had not won at Ryan Field since 1999. But several big plays by Peavy and a fumble recovery by DCota Dixon with Northwestern threatening early in the fourth helped change that.The Wildcats drove to the 19 early in the quarter, but got pushed back to the 30 by a holding penalty against Eric Olson and a 1-yard loss for Jackson.Things only got worse for Northwestern on the next play when Thorson fumbled as he was sacked by Sheehy. Dixon returned the recovery 22 yards to the Wildcats 45, and Clement ran it in from the 2 . The two-point conversion run by Alec Ingold made it 21-14 with 8:51 left.THE TAKEAWAYWisconsin: The Badgers solidified their standing in the Top 10 by taking out a team that has been playing better after dropping its first two games.Northwestern: With three games left, the Wildcats will need to finish strong if theyre going to make a bowl game.NOT CONVERTINGNorthwestern managed just 39 yards rushing. That probably helps explain why the Wildcats converted just 5 of 18 third downs.NUMBER CHANGENorthwestern star linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. wore No. 11 in honor of cornerback Matthew Harris, his roommate. Harris got hit in the head making a tackle against Illinois State on Sept. 10 and retired last week.Walker said he will go back to wearing No. 1.FINAL WORDS- Chryst on Peavys big plays: Jazz is capable of that. He just needs to keep maximizing opportunities and I thought for most part he did that.UP NEXTWisconsin: The Badgers get a bit of a breather when they host struggling Illinois next week.Northwestern: Like Wisconsin, Northwestern figures to be in for an easier time next week when it visits Purdue.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Air Max 95 Cheap Authentic . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Cheap Air Max Tn Wholesale . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/air-max-720-wholesale.html . 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. Air Max 720 Wholesale . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale . -- 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.PITTSBURGH -- The path back to the playoff hunt hasnt exactly been daunting for the Pittsburgh Steelers.Four wins over four teams in various stages of development -- the still winless as Christmas approaches Cleveland Browns, the banged up Indianapolis Colts, the erratic New York Giants and the suddenly stumbling Buffalo Bills -- has put Pittsburgh right back where it was in early October: in control of its destiny in the AFC North.And sorry, theyre not sorry about the road theyve taken to get here.You cant say just because we beat a team on their bad day that they (stink), guard Ramon Foster said with a laugh on Monday.It might be that the Steelers (8-5) are playing so well at the moment, it just kind of looks that way. The team that struggled early in the season on the road against so-so opposition isnt just winning games, it is overwhelming them. Consider this: Pittsburgh hasnt trailed any point during its current four-game run.December football is all about running the ball and playing good defense and weve done that, right tackle Marcus Gilbert said.Emphatically.For three hours in the snow on Sunday, the Steelers sent the Bills skidding all over snowy New Era Field in a one-sided 27-20 romp . Running back LeVeon Bell and the Steelers cohesive offensive line mashed Buffalo into submission. Bells franchise record 236 yards rushing -- no small feat for a franchise thats played 1,210 games (playoffs included) across 84 seasons -- came on 38 clock-chewing carries that showcased everything thats made him arguably the most dynamic back in the league.If he wasnt putting his hand on the back of one of his linemen while waiting for a hole to open then he was shedding would-be tacklers in the open field or -- in perhaps his only questionable decision of the day -- launching himself six feet into the air in an attempt to hurdle Buffalos Ronald Darby.While it took Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley a full half to realize the most direct path to victory came with the ball in Bells hands instead of an uncharacteristically mistake-pronne Ben Roethlisberger, the line realized it far earlier.ddddddddddddThose first three runs LeVeon had, you knew it was going to be a special day, said Foster, who sat out while nursing a bruised chest and watched backup B.J. Finney fill in admirably. The ball wasnt coming out right when we were throwing it. The run is where it was at for us and what better way to do it against the No. 1 (offensive) rushing team in the league?Its a method thats caught on during Pittsburghs resurgence. The Steelers have controlled play early, building 14-0 leads in each of their last four games, forcing opponents to rely on the pass to catch up. That wasnt a problem early in the season as Pittsburghs rebuilt secondary searched for chemistry and its pass rush took a sabbatical. Now putting the ball in the air against the Steelers offers no guarantees.Pittsburgh has picked up 18 of its 31 sacks over the last month and picked off five passes in the process. The Bills came in averaging over 160 yards rushing a game but managed just 67, the fourth time in the Steelers last five games they held the opponents under 100 yards on the ground. Still, Buffalos two garbage-time touchdowns took just a bit of the swagger out an otherwise dominant afternoon.We all understand that we got to finish strong, we got to play harder, and we got to continue to get better, linebacker Ryan Shazier said. But guys are feeling a lot better on a four-game win streak than on a four-game losing streak. The chemistry in the locker room feels a lot better, where we are in the standings.A trip to Cincinnati (5-7-1) waits next weekend before Baltimore visits in what could be a de facto AFC North title game. Considering where the Steelers were after dropping to 4-5 following a late meltdown against Dallas on Nov. 13, theyll take it.Were going to keep riding the wave, Foster said.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '