COLLEGE FOOTBALL : REGIONAL ROUNDUP : Virginia Tech Routs No. 20 Syracuse

Virginia Tech took over first place in the Big East Conference with a 31-7 victory over No. 20 Syracuse on Saturday at Blacksburg, Va.

After Syracuse, 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big East, took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, it was all Virginia Tech (7-2, 5-1), winning its seventh in a row.

Jim Druckenmiller completed 16 of 27 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, and Ken Oxendine carried 19 times for 118 yards to lead the Hokies, who held Syracuse to 167 total yards.

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Marcus Crandell became East Carolina’s all-time leading passer, eclipsing Jeff Blake, in leading the Pirates (6-3) to a 31-25 victory over Army (3-4-1) at West Point, N.Y. Crandell completed 26 of 39 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns and has 5,173 yards in his career. Blake had 5,133 in his career at East Carolina. East Carolina linebacker Morris Foreman had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Army quarterback Ronnie McAda ran for three touchdowns for the second consecutive week. . . . Chad Johnston needed to complete only 16 of 21 passes to account for 334 yards and four touchdowns as West Virginia (4-5, 3-2) broke out of a scoring slump in recording a 59-26 Big East victory over Rutgers (2-6, 1-4) at Morgantown, W.Va. . . . Temple (1-8, 1-4) got in range to try a 44-yard field goal with two seconds left, but David Nicholl missed and Boston College (3-6, 3-1) escaped with a 10-9 Big East victory at Philadelphia. In the second quarter, Temple’s Zane Michalski missed a 29-yard attempt. Temple also lost a fumble at the Boston College eight in the fourth quarter. The difference was a 47-yard field goal by Boston College’s Dan McGuire in the third quarter.

Marc Washington scored two touchdowns and Princeton (8-0, 5-0) stopped Penn (5-3, 3-2) inside the five-yard line twice in the fourth quarter to earn a 22-9 Ivy League victory at Philadelphia. . . . Chad Levitt ran for three touchdowns and caught a pass for a fourth to lead Cornell (5-3, 4-1) to a 38-10 Ivy League victory over Yale (2-6, 1-4) at Ithaca, N.Y. Levitt, the leading rusher in the Ivy League, had 188 yards in 31 carries. . . . Lloyd Lee’s 45-yard punt return for a touchdown ignited a 20-point fourth quarter that carried Dartmouth (6-2, 3-2) to a 43-27 Ivy League victory over Columbia (3-4-1, 3-2) at New York. Columbia led, 27-23, in the third quarter. The Big Green is 24-0-1 against the Lions since 1971. . . . Jason McCullough passed for three touchdowns to lead Brown (4-4, 1-4) to a 47-8 victory over Harvard (1-7, 0-5) at Providence, R.I. The 39-point victory was the Bears’ biggest in 95 meetings with the Crimson.

SOUTH

Danyell Ferguson rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns in 18 carries to lead Miami (5-3) to a 35-14 nonconference victory over Baylor (4-3) at Miami. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Hurricanes and their 13th in a row over a Southwest Conference opponent. . . . Louisville quarterback Marty Lowe threw for a career-high 321 yards as the Cardinals (5-4) recorded a 34-14 victory over Tulane (2-7) at Louisville. Lowe threw for one touchdown and ran for one as Louisville amassed 490 yards, a season high.

WEST

Kim Minor ran for 143 yards and a touchdown in 35 carries as Nevada (7-2, 4-0) built a 17-point lead over Utah State (2-7, 2-2) in the third quarter and held on for a 30-25 Big West victory at Logan, Utah. The loss ruined a strong performance by Utah State’s Kevin Alexander, who caught 13 passes for a school-record 236 yards. . . . Jared Brown threw three touchdown passes and Tony Burton rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in 29 carries as Nevada Las Vegas (2-7) snapped a six-game losing streak with a 34-24 nonconference victory over North Texas at Las Vegas. . . . Cody Ledbetter completed 21 of 37 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns and freshman Denvis Manns ran for 209 yards and two touchdowns as New Mexico State (3-6, 2-2) withstood a late rally by Pacific (3-6, 2-2) for a 39-37 Big West victory at Stockton. . . . Corey Walker rushed for 146 yards and two scores as Arkansas State (4-5, 2-3) recorded a 21-7 Big West victory over San Jose State (2-7, 1-3) at Jonesboro, Ark.