East Roundup : Rutgers Uses Ground Attack to Grind Out Win Over Penn State

Rutgers fullback Mike Botti scored on runs of 11 and 57 yards in the third quarter as Rutgers upset No. 15 Penn State, 21-16, Saturday at University Park, Pa.

“They dared us to run,” said Rutgers Coach Dick Anderson, who was an assistant coach at Penn State until 1984. “They didn’t give us too many choices but to run.”

Two weeks ago, the Scarlet Knights stunned Michigan State, 17-13, by depending heavily on the passing attack. Not this time, however.

Penn State held Rutgers quarterback Scott Erney to only 9 completions in 20 attempts for 85 yards. In Rutgers’ first two games, which includes a 31-30 loss to Vanderbilt last week, Erney connected on 60 of 91 passes for 675 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But Rutgers (2-1) rushed 36 times for 143 yards against Penn State (2-1). And Botti had 112 in 12 carries as the Scralet Knights beat the Nittany Lions for the first time since they won the first game of the 17-game series 70 years ago.

Syracuse 35, Virginia Tech 0--Todd Philcox threw 3 touchdown passes to wide receiver Rob Moore and scored one on a flea-flicker pass as the Orangemen romped at Syracuse, N.Y.

Philcox, a fifth-year senior, completed 9 of 18 passes for 167 yards in 3 quarters for the Orangemen (2-1).

Philcox scored Syracuse’s final touchdown on a 7-yard flea-flicker play that started with a pitch to running back Michael Owens, who threw across the field to a wide open Philcox.

Holy Cross 30, Princeton 26--Tim Donovan took a lateral and ran the last 55 yards to complete a 70-yard kickoff-return touchdown on the last play of the game as Holy Cross (2-2) stunned Princeton (1-1) at Princeton, N.J.

The incredible ending came seconds after Chris Lutz kicked a 35-yard field goal to cap a frantic drive that gave Princeton a 26-24 lead with 2 seconds to play.

Lutz dribbled the ensuing kickoff along the ground, and Daren Cromwell fielded it at the Holy Cross 30. Near the Crusaders 45, Donovan took a lateral as a Princeton defender tackled Cromwell, and went the rest of the way for the touchdown.

The lead changed hands 3 times in the final 73 seconds.

Joe Segreti scored on a 5-yard run with 1:13 to play to give Holy Cross a 24-23 lead. But Jason Garrett drove Princeton 52 yards to set up Lutz’s fourth field goal of the game and an apparent two-point victory.

Lafayette 49, Columbia 3--Frank Baur completed 17 of 22 passes for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 98-yard scoring pass that was the longest in Lafayette history, as the Leopards beat Columbia at New York, handing the Lions’ their 43rd consecutive loss.

Baur, who leads NCAA Division I-AA in passing efficiency, completed 10 consecutive passes at one point, including the 98-yarder to Maurice Caldwell.

Penn 38, Bucknell 35--Sophomore running back Bryan Keys ran for 4 touchdowns, including the game-winner on a 2-yard run with less than 6 minutes left, as Penn (2-0) defeated Bucknell (0-3) at Philadelphia. Bucknell used an 18-point run to take a 35-31 lead with 11:10 left in the game before Penn drove 66 yards to regain the lead.

Connecticut 41, Yale 0--Jeff Gallaher ran for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns and George Boothe added 112 yards and a score as Connecticut (2-1) shut out Yale (0-1-1) at New Haven, Conn.

Rhode Island 17, Brown 10--Mike Rogers, who gained 189 yards in 21 carries, scored first-quarter touchdowns on runs of 27 and 8 yards to lead Rhode Island (2-2) past Brown (0-1-1) at Kingston, R.I.

Cornell 17, Colgate 14--Scott Malaga rushed for a 118 yards and a touchdown and the Cornell defense made a last-second goal-line stand as Cornell (1-1) beat Colgate (1-2) at Ithaca, N.Y.

Lehigh 41, Dartmouth 16--Erick Torain rushed for 108 yards scored 4 touchdowns as Lehigh rolled at Hanover, N.H.

Massachusetts 45, Harvard 28--Dave Palazzi completed 10 of 18 passes for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns as the University of Massachusetts (2-1) trounced Harvard (1-1) at Cambridge, Mass.

MIT 29, Stonehill 7--MIT, playing its first varsity football game since students voted in 1901 to abolish the sport, beat Stonehill College at Cambridge, Mass., as junior Shane LaHousse rushed for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns.

About 1,000 people attended the game, which marked the debut of the teams in NCAA Division III.