Syracuse Makes It a Miserable Day for Pitt, 55-7

Rob Konrad scored twice and Phil Nash returned a blocked punt for a touchdown as Syracuse took advantage of early turnovers and beat Pittsburgh, 55-7, Saturday at Syracuse, N.Y.

The Orangemen, 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big East, rushed for 274 yards.

The loss brought the Panthers (2-5, 1-3) back to earth after their 53-52 comeback victory over Temple a week earlier.

Like the Orangemen’s 42-0 victory over Rutgers last week, this one was over early. Syracuse built a 24-7 halftime lead over Pitt by taking advantage of a fumble, an interception and the blocked punt.

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Ken Oxendine ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns, including a 71-yard burst up the middle, as Virginia Tech recorded a 38-0 Big East victory over Temple (1-5, 0-2) at Blacksburg, Va.

The Hokies had a week off following a loss to Syracuse that snapped their 13-game winning streak and knocked them out of the Top 25.

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Army ran for 546 yards--its third-best rushing game ever--and the Cadets (5-0) notched a 42-21 victory over Rutgers (1-5) at East Rutherford, N.J. The 5-0 start equaled Army’s best since 1985.

Quarterback Adam Thompson (126 yards), and running backs Joe Hewitt (117) and Demetrius Perry (127) all rushed for more than 100 yards for Army.

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Kenyatta Watson caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck, and Omari Walker scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter as Boston College (3-3) rallied from a 10-6 halftime deficit for a 24-17 nonconference victory over host Cincinnati (2-4).

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Paris Childress connected with Dennis Lee on a 25-yard touchdown pass to give Columbia (4-0, 2-0) a 20-19 overtime victory over Penn (2-2, 0-2) in an Ivy League game at Philadelphia. . . . Quarterback Jon Aljancic ran for three touchdowns and passed for another in leading unbeaten Dartmouth (4-0, 1-0) to a 35-7 Ivy League victory over Holy Cross (1-4, 1-0) at Hanover, N.H. . . . Chad Levitt ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns, including the tie-breaker with 1:34 remaining, as Cornell (2-2, 2-0) recorded a 20-13 Ivy League victory over Harvard (1-3, 0-2) at Boston. . . . Jason McCullough threw for three touchdowns to lead Brown (1-3, 1-1) to a 27-23 victory over Ivy League rival Princeton at Princeton, N.J. . . . Todd Scott and Rob Masella returned intercepted passes for touchdowns to lead Yale (2-3) to a 23-21 nonconference victory over Bucknell (1-4) at New Haven, Conn.

SOUTH

Chris Keldorf passed for 340 yards--second most in school history--and connected with L.C. Stevens for three first-half touchdowns to lead No. 13 North Carolina (5-1, 4-1) to a 38-7 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Maryland (2-4, 0-3) at Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . Nealon Greene completed 13 of 24 passes for a career-high 231 yards, with 80 coming on a touchdown pass play to Tony Horne, as Clemson (3-3, 2-2) recorded a 13-6 ACC victory over Duke (0-6, 0-3) at Durham, N.C.. . . . David Akers kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give Louisville (3-3, 1-1) a 23-20 Conference USA victory over Tulane (2-3, 1-2) at New Orleans. Tulane had tied the score, 20-20, on Brad Palazzo’s 37-yard field goal with 6:21 remaining. . . . Chuck Clements completed 14 of his first 15 passes, and threw for four touchdowns, leading host Houston (4-2, 1-0) to a 37-20 victory over Memphis (3-3, 2-1) in its first Conference USA game.

WEST

John Dutton threw for three scores and Alex Gresham ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns to spark Nevada (4-2) to a 66-28 victory over Boise State (1-6) at Reno in the opening game for both teams in the Big West Conference. . . . Abu Wilson rushed for three touchdowns and Matt Sauk threw for 342 yards, leading Utah State (3-4) to a 53-21 victory over New Mexico State (0-6) in another Big West opener, at Las Cruces, N.M.

SOUTHLAND

Aaron Flowers threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and Norman Clarke rushed for 171 yards and two more touchdowns to lead Cal State Northridge (3-3) to a 35-28 victory over Weber State at Ogden, Utah. . . . Craig Young rushed for a school-record 283 yards in 26 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 13-yard run with 8:49 remaining as host Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (2-4) recorded a 34-33 victory over St. Mary’s of Moraga. . . . Ramsey Byrd rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns in 16 carries, leading Chapman (4-0) over host Cal Lutheran (0-4).