COLLEGE FOOTBALL : REGIONAL ROUNDUP : Syracuse Gives West Virginia That Blank Look

Syracuse turned the table on the Big East’s top defense and avenged consecutive shutout losses to West Virginia, blanking the Mountaineers, 22-0, Saturday at Syracuse, N.Y., to take sole possession of first place in the Big East.

The Orangemen, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big East, won their fifth consecutive game as freshman quarterback Donovan McNabb threw to Deon Maddox for a 45-yard touchdown pass play and also scored on a 14-yard run.

The Syracuse defense held West Virginia (3-4, 2-1) to 115 total yards and six first downs through the first three quarters and then saved its shutout with a goal-line stand in the fourth.

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Danyell Ferguson fooled Pittsburgh (2-6, 0-4) with a 16-yard touchdown run on a third-and-seven play with 5:49 remaining and Miami (3-3, 2-1) overcame five turnovers to rally for a 17-16 Big East victory at Pittsburgh. Ryan Clement, benched for several second-half series in Miami Coach Butch Davis’ new quarterback rotation, was four for five for 49 yards on the decisive drive before Ferguson came on to score the winning touchdown. . . . Jim Druckenmiller threw two touchdowns during a 24-point burst as Virginia Tech (5-2, 3-1) posted its fifth consecutive victory with a 45-17 decision over Rutgers (1-5, 0-3) in a Big East game at Piscataway, N.J.

Ronnie McAda ran for two touchdowns and threw for one as Army crushed Boston College, 49-7, at Boston. The Cadets, who had lost nine in a row in the series since last beating Boston College in 1985, led 42-0 at halftime. McAda ran for 117 of Army’s 272 yards in the first half. The Cadets (2-3-1) held the ball for 17 1/2 minutes in the opening 30 minutes, and capitalized when Boston College (2-5) turned the ball over on five successive possessions. . . . Navy (3-4) rallied from a listless start for a 20-14 victory over Villanova (2-5) at Annapolis, Md. Navy is the first Division I-A opponent for Villanova since 1990. . . . Scott Harley ran for 175 yards, a school record for a freshman, and scored a touchdown to lead East Carolina (4-3) to a 32-22 victory over Temple (1-6) at Greenville, N.C.

Brock Harvey passed to Kevin Duffy for two touchdowns and Marc Washington ran for 129 yards as Princeton (6-0, 3-0) remained among the nation’s unbeaten-untied elite with a 14-3 Ivy League victory over hapless Harvard (1-5, 0-3) in a torrential rain in Boston. It was Harvard’s 10th loss in 11 home games under second-year Coach Tim Murphy. . . . Columbia, 3-2-1 overall, is 3-0 against Ivy League opponents for the first time since 1945 after its 21-7 victory over Yale (2-4, 1-2) at New York. Fullback John Harper ran for 138 yards and three first-half touchdowns in 23 carries for Columbia. . . . Mark DeRosa threw three touchdown passes in the first half as Penn (4-2, 2-1) ended a two-game losing streak by rolling to a 58-21 victory over Brown (3-3, 0-3) in an Ivy League game at Philadelphia.

Greg Smith ran for two touchdowns and scored another on a 35-yard pass play, all in the first quarter, to lead Dartmouth (4-2) to a rain-soaked 35-14 romp over Colgate (0-6) at Hanover, N.H. Smith is the son of Jackie Smith, the former NFL tight end who spent 15 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and one, 1978, with the Dallas Cowboys. . . . Rabih Abdullah ran for a career-high 266 yards and five touchdowns in 22 carries to lead Lehigh (5-2) to its third consecutive victory, 34-23 over Cornell (3-3) at Bethlehem, Pa. Abdullah scored on runs of 75, 55, 52, 20 and 15 yards.

MIDWEST

Safety Chris Hewitt returned a trick-play interception 74 yards for a touchdown and cornerback Don Simpson ran back an interception 44 yards for another score as Cincinnati (4-4) recorded a 28-3 victory over Memphis (2-5) at Cincinnati.

It was the third consecutive win for Cincinnati, which opened the season with close losses to highly ranked Kansas and Kansas State.

WEST

Abu Wilson ran for 190 yards and two first-quarter touchdons to lead Utah Ste (2-6, 1-2) to a 27-14 Big West victory over New Mexico State (2-6, 1-2) at Las Cruces, N.M. . . .Jake Delhomme passed for 235 yards ad three touchdons as Southwestern Louisiana (4-3, 3-2) dominated Pacific (2-5, 1-1) in a 45-3 Big West victory at Lafayette, La. . . .Tony Corbin passed for three touchdowns and Tyson Becker kicked a field goal with 16 seconds left as Sacramento State (2-5-1) rallied for a 37-36 victory over host Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (3-4).