EAST ROUNDUP : Exclamation Point: Penn State, 40-26

Penn State’s domination of West Virginia is complete.

Richie Anderson scored on a three-yard run with 52 seconds remaining and Phil Yeboah-Kodie returned an interception 23 yards for a score 14 seconds later, giving the Nittany Lions a 40-26 victory over the Mountaineers Saturday at Morgantown, W.Va.

It was the final scheduled game of an 88-year-old series dominated by Penn State, which moves to the Big Ten Conference next season.

The victory locked up a Blockbuster Bowl bid for the No. 14 Nittany Lions (6-2), who signed a contract to play in that postseason game before the season and needed six victories to qualify.

West Virginia (3-2-2) lost for the 48th time in 59 games against Penn State. The Mountaineers won nine times and the teams tied twice in a series that began in 1904.

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, however, was more pleased that his team avoided losing a third consecutive game. The Nittany Lions were coming off consecutive three-point losses to Miami and Boston College.

“I’m just pleased that we got one again,” Paterno said. “I’m sure when the season is over I’ll think about” the rivalry ending.

Adrian Murrell, the nation’s fifth-leading rusher, finished with 154 yards in 21 carries for the Mountaineers.

Anderson led Penn State with 133 yards and three touchdowns.

If West Virginia and Penn State do play again, Mountaineer Athletic Director Ed Pastilong says it will not be until after the year 2000.

No. 12 Syracuse 38, Temple 7--Marvin Graves passed for two touchdowns and was given the second half off at Philadelphia as the Orangemen handed the Owls’ their sixth consecutive loss.

Chris Gedney caught a touchdown pass from Graves and another from backup Kevin Mason.

Syracuse, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big East, intercepted five passes, four against freshman Luke Linhart, who was making his first start for Temple (1-6, 0-3).

The Orangemen built a 31-7 halftime lead, turning three interceptions into points.

Graves completed 11 of 19 passes for 128 yards. Mason rushed 13 times for 90 yards to lead Syracuse.

East Carolina 37, Pittsburgh 31--East Carolina’s defense, ranked next to last among the 107 Division I-A teams, scored one touchdown and the Pirates’ special teams set up two other scores in the victory at Pittsburgh.

Pitt’s Alex Van Pelt became the sixth quarterback in NCAA history to pass for 10,000 yards, but threw an interception that was returned 55 yards for a touchdown by Greg Floyd as East Carolina (4-3) beat Pitt (3-5) for the second consecutive season.

Floyd’s interception return made it 21-3 midway through the second quarter.

Princeton 21, Harvard 6--Keith Elias rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Lerch returned a punt 82 yards for another score as the Tigers (5-1, 3-0) defeated Harvard (1-5, 1-2) in an Ivy League game at Princeton.

Cornell 26, Dartmouth 16--Scott Oliaro ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns as Cornell (5-1, 2-1) defeated Dartmouth (4-2, 2-1) at Ithaca, N.Y., ending the Big Green’s 15-game unbeaten streak in the Ivy League.

Penn 38, Brown 0--Sundiata Rush ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns as the Quakers (4-2, 2-1) defeated the Bruins (0-6, 0-3) in an Ivy League game at Providence, R.I.

Yale 23, Columbia 0--Keith Price rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns as Yale (4-2, 2-1) recorded its first shutout in three years with a victory over Columbia (1-5, 0-3) at New Haven, Conn.

Delaware 37, Navy 21--Lanue Johnson ran for two touchdowns and caught five passes for 117 yards as Delaware (6-1), a Division I-AA school, defeated Navy (0-6) at Annapolis, Md., for its fourth victory in a row.