EAST ROUNDUP : Syracuse Fights Back and Defeats West Virginia After Brawl, 20-17

West Virginia was in a fighting mood--both during and after the game.

The No. 24 Mountaineers seemed on their way to an upset of No. 14 Syracuse when a bench-clearing brawl broke out and helped the Orangemen rally for a 20-17 Big East Conference victory Saturday at Morgantown, W.Va.

Marvin Graves threw a 17-yard pass to Chris Gedney for the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left. Gedney beat cornerback John Harper, who was playing only because Mike Collins was one of three Mountaineers ejected after the brawl. One Orangeman was thrown out.

“It’s a crime,” West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen said. “I just hate to see the guys in the striped shirts determine the football game. I thought that was for the kids. Our kids are sick. Our coaching staff is in rebellion.”

Syracuse (5-1) had the ball on its 18 with 3:39 left and was trailing, 17-14, when Graves was slammed out of bounds by defensive back Tommy Orr on a hit that officials deemed legal.

Graves jumped to his feet and threw the ball into the back of Orr’s neck, sparking a melee that lasted more than a minute.

Thrown out for West Virginia (3-1-2) were defensive backs Collins and Leroy Axem, and lineman Tom Briggs. The three had combined for 18 tackles.

Syracuse lost Kenny Warren, a freshman offensive lineman who has not played this season.

West Virginia’s Jon Jones scored on a four-yard run with 10:43 left to put the Mountaineers ahead, 17-13.

Syracuse took a 13-10 lead at the start of the fourth quarter on a 22-yard field goal by John Biskup, his second of the game.

Pittsburgh 27, Temple 20--Alex Van Pelt led the Panthers 80 yards and Lyron Brooks scored from the one with 1:38 left to beat the Owls in a Big East game at Philadelphia.

Van Pelt, who completed 21 of 33 passes for 259 yards, hit six passes on the drive for Pitt (3-4, 1-2), including a 19-yarder that Raymond Belvin caught one play before the touchdown.

Temple (1-5, 0-2) lost its fifth consecutive game.

Rutgers 45, Army 10--Craig Mitter rushed for a career-best 160 yards and a touchdown and caught one of Bryan Fortay’s three scoring passes as the Scarlet Knights routed the Cadets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Backup tailback Bruce Presley rushed for 103 yards and scored on a two-yard run as Rutgers (4-3) ended a two-game losing streak. The 45 points were the Scarlet Knights’ most against Army (2-3) in a series that dates to 1891.

Holy Cross 10, Princeton 7--Andy Fitzpatrick ran nine yards for the winning touchdown with 8:29 left and the Crusaders upset the Tigers at Worcester, Mass.

Erick Hamilton of Princeton (4-1) ran 74 yards for a touchdown on the Tigers’ first play. Holy Cross (2-4) pulled to within 7-3 at halftime on a 27-yard field goal by Anthony Pignio.

Penn 34, Columbia 21--Sundiata Rush ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns, and James Daniels returned an interception 91 yards for another as the Quakers took an Ivy League victory over the Lions at Philadelphia.

Columbia (1-4, 0-2), which hasn’t won at Penn since 1976, was threatening late in the half when Daniels’ interception return gave Penn (3-2, 1-1) a 24-7 lead.

Dartmouth 39, Yale 27--Jay Fiedler passed for four touchdowns and set three school records as the Big Green held off the Elis in an Ivy League game at Hanover, N.H.

Dartmouth (4-1, 2-0), built a 30-0 lead before Yale (3-2, 1-1) rallied for four touchdowns, two each by quarterback Steve Mills and tailback Keith Price.

Cornell 25, Colgate 7--Scott Oliaro rushed for 76 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Big Red avenged losses to the Red Raiders (3-3) the last two seasons at Hamilton, N.Y.

Bill Lazor of Cornell (4-1) rushed for 49 yards and an 11-yard touchdown and completed 17 of 30 passes for 181 yards.

Lehigh 31, Brown 24--Jason Mastropierro ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns as the Engineers (2-4) ended a four-game losing streak by downing the Bears (0-5) at Providence, R.I.

Lafayette 31, Harvard 29--Tom Kirchhoff passed for 274 yards and two touchdowns as the Leopards (3-3) held off the Crimson (1-4) at Easton, Pa.