Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 45

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2003 E5 iJ- COLLEGE FOOTBALL THE HARTFORD COURANT Ivy League Standings Conf AH No-Delivery Zone PF PA Pansytvatia 7 0 0343 164 Harvard 4 3 7 3 317 221 4 3 6 4354284 Brown 4 3 5 5 244246 Dartmouth 4 3 5 5 211 261 Columbia 3 4 4 6 211283 Princeton 2 5 2 8 204267 Cornel 0 7 1 9130304 v.sy (I Missed Chances Haunt Yale By TOMMY HINE COURANT STAFF WRITER NEW HAVEN It only took six plays less than two minutes for momentum to swing from one side of Yale Bowl all the way to the other Saturday. Yale drove 80 yards but couldn't score HARVARD 37 from the 3 late YALE 19 in the third quarter. Har vard answered with a 79-yard touchdown pass. The turnaround staggered Yale and sent many in the crowd of 53,136 to postgame tailgating long before Harvard won the 120th edition of The Game 37-19, its third straight victory over the Bulldogs. "That broke our backs," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki said.

"We had a long 17-play drive and didn't get in. They answered with a touchdown." Nearly a quarter remained when Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick found wide-open Brian Edwards running the wrong route for that telling TD and a 31-13 lead. "He was supposed to run down-field 5 yards and turn around," Fitzpatrick said. "He went deep." It sucked the life out of Yale. "That was the huge point in the game," said Dante Balestracci, Harvard's All-Ivy League linebacker who harassed Yale quar-terbackAlvin Cowan.

"Weturned it around so quickly." Yale had 555 yards in total offense and was at or inside the Harvard 12-yard line five times, with only one touchdown. "We made no plays," Siedlecki said. "Statistics don't mean anything. We only scored 19 points. I didn't have any answers today in the red zone, and I told our kids that" Yale (64, 4-3) could have taken sole possession of second place in the Ivy League and its first Big Three title in four years.

Instead, the Bulldogs finished in a four-way tie for second with Dartmouth, Brown and Harvard (7-3, 4-3), the Big Three champion. ASSOCIATED PRESS CLIFTON DAWSON (174 yards) carries the load for Harvard. Yale defenders include Greg Owens (20) and Cole Harris (36). Saturday Harvard 37, Yale 19 Brown 42, Columbia 10: Nick Hartigan (201 yards, three touchdowns) became the Ivy League record holder for rushing yardage by a sophomore with 1,498, surpassing the 1,409 by Cornell's Ed Marinaro in 1969. Dartmouth 21, Princeton IS Charlie Rittger threw two TD passes' and Dartmouth finished with a wuntiiiy inuu ill ivaifiK Ki)r i il tnenrsi time since Princeton's Derek Javarone kicked five field goals to tie the Ivy record.

Perm 59, ComeH 7: Mike Mitchell threw five touchdown passes and Dan Castles had four TD catches, both Perm records, as the Quakers completed their first perfect season since 1994. for 438 yards to break Joe Wat-land's school record for singlfr game yardage, set in 1999 against Harvard, by 1 yard. "We expected to challenge the Perms and Hair-vards for the Ivy League champi onship. A 6-4 record is not what we envisioned." By then, Yale drives had stalled at the Harvard 12 twice and once at the 1, leaving the Bulldogs with two John Troost field goals and a miss from 34 yards on their first drive after a first-down, false-start penalty at the 12. Yale had first-and-goal at the Harvard 4 in the second quarter, but after three running plays had to settle for a 21-yard field goal "They just beat us," said Cowan, who completed 34 of 64 passes "We couldn't score in the red zone," said Yale wide receiver Ralph Plumb, who had 15 receptions for 158 yards.

"It was the story of the game. Lack of execution. We had 555 yards in offense and scored 19 points. That's laughable. It's awfuL" Yale also couldn't stop Harvard freshman tailback Clifton Dawson, who had 32 carries for 174 yards.

"Their run controlled the game," Siedlecki said. After the teams traded first-quarter field goals, Harvard took a 10-3 lead on Fitzpatrick's 26-yard pass to Corey Mazza and never trailed. Balestracci, who had eight tackles, 114 sacks, a blocked extra point and an onside kick recovery, had a hand in the Crimson's first touchdown as welL With Harvard facing fourth-and-3 at its 49 early in the second quarter, Balestracci gained 8 yards on a fake punt "After all the adversity we faced the last month Fitzpat-rick's ankle, knee and hand injuries and three straight losses, it was tremendous to see our kids respond like they did," Harvard Mf e-ia Trojans Are Feeling It Eagles Surprise! Hokies At Home Standings Conf All PF PA, Miami 5 1 9 2 317 168 West Virginia 5 1 7 4 324 228 Pittsburgh 5 1 8 3 359 260..," VirginiaTech 4 3 8 3 390 Boston Cofege 3 4 7 5 335 310 hi Syracuse 2 4 5 5 275 265 Rutgers 1 5 4 7 305 347 Temple 0 6 1 10 207 348 Saturday Miami 34, Rutgers 10 '('. Pittsburgh 30, Temple 16 J(. West Virginia 34, Syracuse 23 Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 27 Next Saturday Syracuse at Rutgers, noon r.

Virginia Tech at Virginia, lor 8 pm Temple at West Virginia, lpm Miami at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m. ji? ASSOCIATED PRESS LSU'S KYLE WILLIAMS (95) and Bryce Wyatt take down Eli Manning, who was sacked three times and completed 16 of 36 for 200 yards. LSU Shuts Down Manning Attack Knight Sets BC Rushing Record Associated Press Boston College's Grant Adams andPaulPetersongottheopening they needed with time running out against No. 12 Virginia Tech. Petersonfound Adams inl-on-1 coverage with 4:40 remaining to give Boston College a 34-27 victory -Satur BIG EAST day, spoiling the Hokies' final game in the Big East and handing Virginia Tech its first loss in seven games at Lane Stadium this season.

The Eagles (7-5) boosted their bowl stock, showcasing Derrick Knight, an emerging quarterback and a punishing defense. "Our last regular season game, to get the that was one of our goals," said Knight, who rushed for 197 yards on 38 carries, scored two touchdowns and became the Eagles' career rushing leader with 3,603 yards, passing Mike Cloud (3,597 yards). Peterson finished 15-for-28 232 yards with two TDs. Virginia Tech (8-3), which moves to the ACC next season, might have squandered its chance at a Gator Bowl bid and had problems with its quarterback rotation. Bryan Randall started and led the Hokies on three scoring drives, the last touchdown coming on Kevin Jones' 1-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.

The Hokies had 238 yards of offense in the quarter. In the second quarter, with Marcus Vick at quarterback in keeping with coach Frank Beam-er's planned rotation, the Hokies managed just 37 yards. In the third quarter, with Randall, they had 10 yards. OF also chipped in with a pair of touchdowns. "Everything was just right" CtoollsaidoftheTrojans'playas they took control early.

"There was nothing we couldn't do. We were in total command." The Trojans (10-1, 6-1) have a regular season game remaining against Oregon State at the Coliseum Dec. 6. If they win and the BCS computers don't spit out something quirky at the end the Trojans ostensibly will play in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl for the national title.

Oklahoma is the nation's only unbeaten team and No. 1 in both national polls and the BCS rankings. USC learned of Michigan's win just before its game began, and some apparently didn't know the outcome until afterward. "What was it? I'm asking you," said Williams, who sat out the second half with a sore ankle. "I just found out I'm sure a lot of people knew." Symons Sets It Texas Tech QB BJ.

Symons set the NCAA season passing record Saturday. The top three totals: 536 J. Symons, Texas Tech, 2003 5488 Ty Detmer, BYU, 1990 5440 David Klingler, Houston, 1990 downs on the ground and had a fifth on a 77-yard reception for the Sooners (12-0, 84) Big 12). "For me, I didn't play a complete game," said Symons, who revealed he has ligament damage in his left knee. "I played good in spurts.

But I had some costly picks that hurt us." Tech (7-5, 44) is probably headed to the Houston BowL while OU moves on to the Big 12 championship game Dec 6. The only bowl representatives on hand were from the Independence BowL Tech overcame early drops by Jarrett Hicks, Mickey Peters and Nehemiah Glover to stay close. Wes Welker ran around a block by Carlos Francis to score on a 5-yard reception and cut the Sooners' lead to 14-10 with 5:43 left in the first hall AROUND coach Tim Murphy said. "Our kids kept responding. "We felt coming in it was going to come down to red-zone defense.

They were going to move the football. Alvin Cowan is a tremendous player. We had to stop them deep." Edwards' 39-yard punt return to the Yale 40 set up Harvard's second touchdown, Fitzpatrick's 10-yard pass to Rodney Byrnes, and a 17-6 lead at the half missed one of 24 field-goal attempts coming in, was wide right on a 36-yarder that would have tied the score at 17 with 4:15 remaining. It was Nichols' second miss of the day. "Everything was perfect" he said.

"I thought I hit it real good. Whenllookedup, it faded right on me. Man, it's not a good feeling." The Rebels got one last chance with 2:15 left, but Manning was incomplete on three straight passes and on fourth down, he was tripped pulling away from center by one of his linemen. Manning was 16-for-36 for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was sacked three times.

"They were bringing pressure, and we were trying to react to it and just didn't make plays," said Manning, whodidlittle to helphis Heisman Trophy candidacy. Ole Miss can still win the SEC West if LSU loses its season finale Friday and the Rebels beat Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night Mauck was 16-for-29 for 189 yards, but was intercepted three times, which helped keep Ole Miss close while gaining only 98 yards through three quarters. left side of the end zone from 3 yards with 53 seconds left In the game. The touchdown followed a missed field goal for UNLVs Dillon Pleffer from 23 yards with 2:38 left that would have made it a two-possession game. Pieffer had made three previous field goals on the day.

The Rams (7-5, 4-3) have won seven or more games every year since 1994. UAB 22, South Florida 19: In Tampa, Nick Hayes kicked a 42-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining to lift Alabama-Blrmlngharn. The victory sustained the faint bowl hopes of UAB (5-6, 4-3 Conference USA). The loss ended any bowl plans for South Florida (6-4, 4-3), which has two victories against Division I-AA opponents. Hayes' third field goal of the game came after the Bulls to rallied from a 19-3 deficit Tech wasleadiiig27-24 witheifi remaining when Peterson hit Larry Lester for 14 yards, then faced a third and-10 from his 36.

He found Adams behind Vincepi Fuller down the middle. Jones gained 165 yards and scored three times. He also set the single-season rushing record at Tech with MIOyards. Cyrus Lawrence had 1,403 in 1982. Miami 34, Rutgers 10: Brock Berlin threw two touchdowjr) passes in a 28-point third quarter to help put the No.

13 Hurricanes a victory away from a fourth consecutive Big East title. Miami plays at No. 21 Pitt Saturday. Both are 5-1 in the conference. Pittsburgh 30, Temple 16: Brandon Miree ran for a career-high 188 yards and two TDs in Philadelphia in his first game since breaking his right leg Sept 20 against Toledo.

Larry Fitzgerald, the nation's leading receiver, finished with seven catches for 102 yards. West Virginia 34, Syracuse 23; Rasheed Marshall hit Chris Henry with TD passes of 24 and 67 yards in the fourth quarter and the Mountaineers survived a hii scare to win at Syracuse. NOTE Associated Press LOS ANGELES Regardless of the outcome in the Midwest Southern Cal SOUTHERN CAL 47 knew it had to UCLA 22 take care of business at the LA Coliseum. The Trojans did just that Saturday, scoring on their first four possessions and rolling to a 47-22 victory over UCLA. As the second-ranked Trojans were taking the field, Michigan was wrapping up a 35-21 victory over Ohio State.

USC had slipped to third in the BCS standings behind the Buckeyes last week. "It was a great day for Michigan, a great win," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. Not a bad a day for USC, either. Matt Leinart threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Williams had 11 receptions for 181 yards and two scores, and the Trojans' defense held UCLA (6-6, 4-4 Pac-10) to 11 yards rushing and Sooners Roll On The Dallas Morning News LUBBOCK, Texas Texas Tech's high- 0KLAH0MA 56 Powered of-TEXAS TECH 25 fense has given opponents fits until Saturday against Oklahoma. B.

J. Symons took his lumps as the top-ranked Sooners kept their national championship hopes rolling in a 56-25 victory. The fifth-largest crowd in Jones SBC Stadium history (53,135) saw Symons set the NCAA season passing record. But Symons also threw five interceptions while completing 31 of 53 passes for 230 yards and a TD. Tech had averaged 271 yards the last three years against Oklahoma, all losses.

Saturday, the Raiders, who boasted the No. 1 offense in the country, managed 359 yards against the nation's No. 1 defense. Symons counterpart, Jason White, had four TD passes and 394 yards with no Interceptions. Ke-Juan Jones scored four touch- Maryland Edges N.C.

State Nick Novak made a 43-yard field goal with 23 seconds left to give Maryland a 26-24 victory over North Carolina State Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. The loss spoiled senior day for N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers, who was 16-for-30 for 276 yards with one Interceptloa The Wolfpack retired Rivers' No. 17 before the game. The Terrapins (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from 14 points down In the final 6:23, with Scott McBrlen leading drives that resulted in two touchdowns and the field goal.

McBrlen finished 17 of 37 for 243 yards. Jerrlcho Cotchery went over the 100-yard mark for the 14th time In his career with six catches for 102 yards for the Wolfpack (7-5, 4-4). The victory gave Maryland second Associated Press OXFORD, Miss. Stellar defense, just enough offense and a little good fortune kept LSU in the hunt for ana- tional champi- LSU 17 onship and MISSISSIPPI 14 No. 15 Mississippi from clinching its first SEC West title.

The No. 3 Tigers held Eli Manning and the high-scoring Rebels in check for three quarters, then withstood a fourth-quarter rally to earn a 17-14 victory Saturday. Matt Mauck threw two touchdown passes for LSU (10-1, 6-1), which now controls the SEC West race and can clinch its second trip to the conference title game in three years with a victory over Arkansas. The Tigers were fourth in the latest BCS standings, but with Ohio State's loss they are sure to move up a spot next week. "It wasn't pretty, but our character and maturity showed," LSU coach Nick Saban said.

"Their defense really played welL too." Ole Miss (8-3, 6-1) had its chances to pull off a second straight fourth-quarter comeback victory. Jonathan Nichols, who had THE NATION Tech's Jones Weighs NFL After setting the Virginia Tech season rushing record, Kevin Jones said he doesn't know yet whether he'll return to Blacksburg next season or enter the NFL draft "Right now it's 50-50," Jones said Saturday night "I've just got to re-evaluate after the bowl game." Jones, a junior running back, had 165 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 loss to Boston College. He has 1,410 yards this season, surpassing Cyrus Lawrence's previous mark of L403 yards in 1982. Utah's 3-0 victory over BYU ended an NCAA record streak of scoring In361 games. The last team to shut out BYTJ was Arizona State, 20-0 on Sept 27, 1975.

Peon State finished with Its first nine-loss season after losing 41-10 to Michigan State. It's only the fourth time the Nittany Lions (3-9) have failed to reach .500 in Joe Patemo's 38 seasons as coach. This is as bad a football game as we've played in a long time," he said. 1 want to get out of here, get on a plane, go home and hug my wife." After Idaho closed with a 20-13 victory over Utah State, school officials said they were not renewing the contract of coach Tom Cable. I The Vandals were 3-9 this season and 11-35 in four years under Cable.

Georgia's Billy Bennett had three field goals and three PATs in a 30-10 victory over Kentucky, making him the SEC's career leader in points (382) and field goals (81). Tennessee's Jeff Hall had 371 points 1995-98 and Alabama's Philip Doyle had 78 field goals 1987-90. Kansas quarterback Bill t. Whlttemore threw his 16th TD pass this season, setting the school record, In a 36-7 victory over Iowa State. Whlttemore had shared the record of 15 with Mike Noraeth (1985) and David Jaynes (1972).

Colgate's Jamaal Branch rushed for 280 yards and three TDs in a 45-38" victory over Holy Cross, setting Patriot League season records for rushing yards (2,026) and TDs Miami center Joel Rodriguezl broke his left leg In a 34-10 over Rutgers and safety Maurice .1 Sikes broke hit right hand. Sikes said he expects to play next i Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgl left the Badgers' 27-21 loss to. Iowa when he sustained a concussion In the second Colorado State QB Bradle Van. Pert sustained a broken rkjht (throwing) hand in a 24-23 victory over UNLV. 1 Conference) a victory over the Bulldogs (6-6, 4-4) in Johnson City, Term.

East Tennessee decided before the season to cancel its 80-year-old program. Louisville 66, Houston 45: In Louisville, Lionel Gates rushed for a career-high 140 yards and four touchdowns and Louisville gained a school-record 779 yards. Freshman Michael Bush ran for a career-high 137 yards and two scores and Stefan LeFors threw for 334 yards as the Cardinals (8-3, 4-3 Conference USA) topped the previous record of 769 yards they gained In a 63-45 win over East Carolina in 1998. Colorado State 24, UNLV 23: In Las Vegas, backup quarterback Justin Holland relieved an injured Bradlee Van Pelt In the third quarter and led Colorado State on the game-winning drive In the fourth quarter. Holland found Joel Dreessen in the place in the ACC and a likely Invitation to the Gator BowL Oregon 34, Oregon State 20: In Eugene, Kellen Clemens passed for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Oregon in the 107th Civil War.

Oregon (8-4, 5-3 Pac-10) completed its regular season. Oregon State (7-4, 4-3) closes against No. 2 Southern California on Dec. 6. Both teams are likely bowl bound.

Clemens completed 11 of 26 passes for 125 yards, with a 15-yard TO pass for Dante Rosarlo in the third quarter to give the Ducks a 28-13 lead. Derek Anderson was 21- of-45 for 271 yards with one TD and two interceptions for Oregon State. East Tennessee State 16, The Citadel 13: On the final play in ETSU history, Jonathan Godfrey kicked a 22- yard field goal to give the Buccaneers (5-7, 2-6 Southern I.