COLLEGE FOOTBALL : East Roundup : McPherson, No. 8-Ranked Syracuse Get Past Pitt, 24-10

Quarterback Don McPherson ran 3 yards for a first-quarter touchdown and threw scoring passes of 28 yards to Pat Kelly and 11 yards to Tommy Kane in the second quarter as unbeaten, eighth-ranked Syracuse beat Pittsburgh, 24-10, Saturday at Pittsburgh.

McPherson’s touchdown run and his scoring pass to tight end Kelly came after he scrambled away from strong pass rushes on third-down plays.

McPherson’s 11-yard pass to Kane with 14 seconds left in the first half gave the Orangemen (8-0) a 24-3 lead. Pitt is 5-3.

The Syracuse scoring drives covered 62, 82, 80 and 80 yards as the nation’s 11th-ranked offensive team rolled up 301 yards in the first half against Pitt’s No. 4-ranked defense.

While McPherson was directing a big-play offense, Syracuse tackle Rob Burnett keyed a defense that sacked Pitt’s Sal Genilla five times in the first half and nailed Darnell Dickerson twice in the second half.

The Orangemen overcame the loss of star nose guard Ted Gregory to a knee injury on Pitt’s first offensive play.

Penn State 25, W. Virginia 21--Blair Thomas rushed for 181 yards in 36 carries as the Nittany Lions rallied for two touchdowns in the final eight minutes to beat the Mountaineers at University Park, Pa., and boost their National Collegiate Athletic Assn. record for consecutive winning seasons to 49.

Penn State trailed, 21-10, with 9:54 left in the game before rallying to improve to 6-2. West Virginia, which had won three straight, dropped to 4-4.

The Nittany Lions moved 58 yards in 6 plays, with Thomas scoring from the 1 with 7:59 remaining. Thomas caught a two-point pass conversion to make it 21-18.

After a punt, Penn State drove 62 yards in 7 plays for the game-winning touchdown, which came on a 19-yard run by freshman Gary Brown with 3:04 left.

Penn State quarterback Matt Knizner was having a miserable time until the Nittany Lions rallied. He finished with 13 completions in 25 attempts for 130 yards.

Army 17, Temple 7--Sixth-string quarterback Otto Leone, pressed into action when freshman starter Bryan McWilliams was injured early in the game, surprised the Owl defense when he connected with senior tight end Mark Charette on a 64-yard touchdown pass play early in the second half in the Cadets’ victory at West Point, N.Y.

It was Army’s lone pass of the game, the first of Leone’s career, and it helped the Cadets snap a four-game losing streak.

The Owls dropped to 3-5 with their fourth straight loss.

McWilliams, Army’s fifth-string quarterback who was making his first start, suffered a broken finger on his passing hand on Army’s third possession. Leone, also a freshman, replaced McWilliams and guided the Cadets the rest of the way.

Lehigh 26, Columbia 10--At New York, reserve tailback Paul Sims rushed for 158 yards, including 49 for the go-ahead touchdown, enabling the Engineers to hand the Lions their 38th consecutive loss.

Despite taking a lead for the first time this season--10-7 after the first quarter--Columbia (0-7) extended its major college record for consecutive defeats. Lehigh is 4-4.

Harvard 14, Brown 9--Tom Yohe completed 18 of 36 passes for 196 yards and ran for a touchdown to lead the Crimson to an Ivy League victory over the Bruins at Providence, R.I.

The Crimson, 6-1 overall and 4-1 in league play, piled up 413 total yards, 217 on the ground, and controlled the ball for 37:09. Brown is 4-3 and 3-2.

Yale 17, Dartmouth 7--Quarterback Kelly Ryan’s passing and tailback Mike Stewart’s rushing helped the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1) beat the Big Green (1-7, 0-4) in an Ivy League game at Hanover, N.H.

Princeton 17, Penn 7--Sophomore halfback Judd Garrett and junior fullback Dennis Heidt each scored touchdowns as the Tigers (5-2, 3-2) defeated the Quakers (2-5, 2-3) in an Ivy League game at Philadelphia’s Franklin Field.

Bucknell 20, Cornell 6--Bucknell quarterback Jim Given passed for 266 yards and freshman safety Mike Augsberger returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown to lead the Bisons (4-4) to a victory over the Big Red (4-3) at Ithaca, N.Y.

Holy Cross 54, Massachusetts 10--Jeff Wiley completed 27 of 39 passes for 438 yards and 4 touchdowns, including one to Gordie Lockbaum on a 40-yard play, and Tom Kelleher ran for 2 scores in leading the Crusaders, 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA, over the Minutemen (2-6) at Amherst, Mass.