COLLEGE FOOTBALL : East Roundup : Penn St. Gets Past Temple

Blair Thomas won’t be 20 until Oct. 10, but he’s decided to start celebrating early.

Thomas became the first Penn State back to gain more than 100 yards in three straight games since 1983 Saturday as the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions beat Temple, 27-13, at University Park, Pa.

“After the Cincinnati game, I decided to give myself an early birthday present and try to get better each week,” said Thomas, who ran for a career-high 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. “So far, I’ve gotten better each week.”

Thomas had 154 yards in a 41-0 victory over Cincinnati and 164 yards in a 27-17 win over Boston College.

Thomas scored on runs of 3 and 45 yards as Penn State (4-1) defeated Temple (3-2) for the 13th straight time and 21st time in 25 meetings.

He carried 24 times, caught 3 passes for 51 yards and had 41 yards on 3 kickoff returns.

Penn State also scored on a 21-yard pass from Matt Knizner to Jim Coates and on field goals of 42 and 37 yards by Eric Etze.

Boston College 13, Pitt 10--Mike Power scored from a yard out on a fourth-down bootleg with 6:59 left, and the Eagles upset the Panthers at Pittsburgh.

Jim Bell carried 29 times for 139 yards, including 39 yards during Boston College’s decisive 62-yard scoring drive, as the Eagles (3-2) ended a two-game losing streak.

Pitt (3-2), which got 111 rushing yards from 260-pound tailback Craig Heyward, took a 10-6 lead on Jeff VanHorne’s 41-yard field goal with 12:37 left.

Holy Cross 49, Colgate 7--Jeff Wiley set three school passing records as the Crusaders buried the Red Raiders in a Colonial League game at Worcester, Mass.

Wiley, who passed for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns, broke Holy Cross records for pass completions in one game (28), career touchdown passes (36) and career completions (346).

Holy Cross is 3-0, and Colgate is 3-1.

Wake Forest 17, Army 13--Rickey Proehl caught his second touchdown pass of the game from Mike Elkins with 2:46 left, and the Deacons downed the Cadets at West Point, N.Y.

The Deacons (4-0) are off to their best start since 1947.

Army (2-2) lost quarterback Tory Crawford early in the second quarter an injury to his left knee. He underwent arthroscopic surgery Saturday night and will miss a minimum of four weeks.

West Virginia 49, E. Carolina 0--Major Harris threw for two first-half touchdowns, and Undra Johnson rushed for a pair of third-quarter scores as the Mountaineers trounced the Pirates at Morgantown, W. Va.

Harris added a 17-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Mountaineers (2-3) also scored on Bo Orlando’s 84-yard interception return in the second quarter. East Carolina is 2-3.

Harvard 33, Bucknell 14--Tom Yohe passed for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Crimson rolled past the Bison at Cambridge, Mass.

The Crimson (3-0) limited Bucknell (2-2) to 18 yards rushing and sacked Jim Given and Scott Auchenbach a total of eight times.

Rutgers 7, Duke 0--Henry Henderson ran two yards for a touchdown with 5:41 left to push the Scarlet Knights past the Blue Devils in the rain at East Rutherford, N.J. It marked the 500th football victory for Rutgers in 118 years of college football.

Henderson’s run was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone against Eric Volk of Duke (3-2), giving Rutgers (3-1) a first down at the two.

Cornell 17, Lafayette 12--Scott Malaga scored on a 24-yard run in the third quarter and moments later Mike Raich returned a punt 82 yards for a score as the Big Red rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat the Leopards at Ithaca, N.Y..

Cornell is 2-1, and Lafayette is 2-2.

Brown 13, Princeton 7--Kirk Little rushed for 109 yards, including a go-ahead 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, to lead the Bruins past the Tigers in an Ivy League game at Providence, R.I.

Princeton is 2-1, 1-1, and Brown is 3-0.

Dartmouth 38, Davidson 7--Terry Phillis scored two touchdowns, and the Big Green defense intercepted four passes and registered six sacks at Hanover, N.H., sending the Wildcats to a 16th straight defeat.

Dartmouth (1-2) broke a 24-game nonconference losing streak.