EAST ROUNDUP : No. 8 Penn State Dominates Rutgers

John Sacca passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns as No. 8 Penn State defeated Rutgers, 38-24, Saturday night at East Rutherford, N.J., giving the Nittany Lions their best start since winning the national championship in 1986.

The victory was the 19th in a row for Penn State (5-0) against an eastern opponent and its 19th in 21 games against Rutgers (3-2).

Sacca, who completed 21 of 37 passes, connected with O.J. McDuffie on scoring passes of 10 and 20 yards during a 31-point second half that allowed the Nittany Lions to break away from a 7-3 halftime lead.

“We can throw the football,” Penn State Coach Joe Paterno said. “We’re a balanced team. If we can’t run the ball, we’ll throw, and that’s the kind of game it was.”

The 303-yard performance was the third-best in Penn State history. Todd Blackledge set the record of 358 yards against Miami in 1981.

Sacca’s biggest touchdown pass might have been a 10-yarder to wide-open tight end Kyle Brady on a fourth-and-inches, play-action call in the second quarter with Penn State trailing, 3-0.

Sacaa completed passes of 31 yards to Brian O’Neal and 37 yards to Troy Drayton on the opening series of the second half to set up a 22-yard field goal by Craig Fayak for a 10-3 lead.

Other games--Keith Elias gained 273 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 54 and 60 yards to lead Princeton (3-0) to a 38-28 victory over Lehigh (1-3) at Bethlehem, Pa. Elias became the first Princeton runner to gain 200 yards in consecutive games. Last week he rushed for 299 yards against Lafayette. He also became the only Tiger to rush for 200 yards more than twice in a career.

Quarterback Jay Fiedler completed 18 of 27 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns to lead Dartmouth (2-1) to a 44-14 victory over Bucknell (1-2) at Hanover, N.H. . . . Fullback Shawn Sierra gained 137 yards in 12 carries and scored a touchdown as Holy Cross (1-3) defeated Harvard (1-2), 30-7, in a nonconference game at Worcester, Mass. . . . Wilbur Gilliard gained 198 yards and scored four touchdowns as Connecticut (2-2) defeated Yale (2-1), 40-20, at Storrs, Conn. It marked the fifth consecutive year the Huskies beat the Elis and the ninth time in 10 years.

Bill Sparacio gained 169 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Colgate (2-2) over Columbia (1-2), 34-29, at New York. . . . Mark Horowitz of Pennsylvania (2-1) broke a 10-10 tie with a 24-yard field goal with two seconds left to give the Quakers a 13-10 victory over Fordham (0-4) at New York.

Bill Lazor completed 13 of 32 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns and Cornell (2-1) converted three first-quarter turnovers into 21 points during a 44-33 victory over Lafayette (2-2) at Ithaca, N.Y.