EAST ROUNDUP : Penn State Tunes Up for Irish With Win

Penn State started the season with two consecutive losses, but the No. 21 Nittany Lions have been on a roll ever since.

Penn State tuned up for next Saturday’s game against top-ranked Notre Dame by defeating Maryland, 24-10, Saturday at Philadelphia.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for Penn State, which improved to 7-2. Maryland, which has one victory and a tie in 34 games with Penn State and has lost 20 in a row at Beaver Stadium, is 5-5.

Penn State quarterback Tony Sacca, lifted in the last two games because of inconsistent play, passed for 162 yards and a touchdown. Sacca completed only one of five passes in the first half, but Coach Joe Paterno stuck with him and he completed seven of 11 for 151 yards in the second half, including a 30-yard touchdown pass play to David Daniels.

Leroy Thompson rushed for 132 yards in 26 carries to lead the Nittany Lions, who lost their first two games to Texas and USC.

Temple 28, Pittsburgh 18--Conrad Swanson scored on three short touchdown runs as the Owls, perhaps inspired by a first-quarter sideline brawl, upset the Panthers at Pittsburgh.

The victory, Temple’s fourth in its last six games against Pitt, left the Owls (5-4) one victory short of their first winning season since 1984 and assured Pitt (3-6-1) of its second losing season in 18 years. Pitt, which has lost four in a row and five of six, was 3-7-1 in 1984.

With Pitt leading, 6-0, the game was halted by a 10-minute fight along the Temple sideline after the Tony Schmitz of Temple intercepted a pass by Pitt quarterback Alex Van Pelt.

Temple Coach Jerry Berndt was among those who sustained minor injuries, but Temple defensive lineman Alfonso Taylor was the only player ejected.

Air Force 15, Army 3--Quarterback Rob Perez scored on a two-yard run with 5:32 left as the Falcons (5-5) beat the Cadets (4-5) at West Point, N.Y. to win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the second consecutive season.

Air Force, which beat Navy earlier in the season, goes to the Liberty Bowl for the second consecutive season if it wins at Texas El Paso next week.

The Falcons held Army, third in the nation in rushing, to 180 yards--159 yards below its average. The two teams passed only four times in the game.

Tulane 26, Syracuse 24--Deron Smith connected with Steve Ballard on a 12-yard touchdown pass play with 22 seconds left to lift the Green Wave (4-6) over the Orangemen (5-3-2) at Syracuse, N.Y.

Tulane overcame a 21-point rally by Syracuse to damaged the Orangemen’s bowl chances.

It was third time this season at the Carrier Dome that Syracuse’s defense failed to hold an opponent in the waning minutes with the Orangemen in the lead. Michigan State and Pittsburgh tied Syracuse earlier this season with last-minute scores.

West Virginia 28, Rutgers 3--The Mountaineers (4-5) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to easily defeat the Scarlet Knights (3-7) at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Mountaineer defense also played a big part in the win, forcing two turnovers that resulted in a three-yard first-quarter touchdown pass from Greg Jones to Nate Rine and an 11-yard touchdown run by Alex Shook in the fourth quarter.

Rutgers’ only points came on a school-record 55-yard field goal by John Benestad.

Dartmouth 29, Brown 0--The Big Green (6-2-1, 5-1) moved a step closer to its first Ivy League title since 1982 by limiting the Bears (1-8, 1-5) to nine yards rushing at Providence, R.I.

Yale 34, Princeton 7--Darin Kehler ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as the Elis (5-4, 4-2) beat the Tigers (3-6, 2-4) in an Ivy League game at New Haven, Conn.

Pennsylvania 24, Harvard 20--The Quakers (3-6, 3-3) stopped a drive on downs at their own 28 with 19 seconds left to preserve the win over the Crimson (5-4, 3-3) in an Ivy League game at Philadelphia.

Cornell 41, Columbia 0--The Big Red (6-3, 5-1) scored four touchdowns in the first 9:30 against the Lions (1-8, 1-5) and went on to record its biggest shutout victory since 1949 in an Ivy League game at New York.