The Week

EAST

After losing those first two games, we had something to prove," said Texas A&M Quarterback Mike Mosley following a stunning 27-14 upset of Penn State. Although the Aggies passed for only 39 yards, they got 259 on the ground. Much of that came when Curtis Dickey scored three times after taking pitchouts to the short side of the field, where State's end and linebacker were caught inside as he sped by.

West Virginia was outgained only 342 yards to 334 by North Carolina State, but the Wolfpack blew the game apart in the second half. State won 38-14 as Quarterback Scott Smith scored on three short runs.

Navy amassed lots of yardage (439) but not many points while beating Connecticut 21-10. Mike Sherlock kept the Middies on the move by rushing for 156 yards.

Temple powered its way past Delaware 31-14, and Boston College ended the nation's longest Division 1-A losing streak at 13 games by defeating Villanova 34-7. The Eagles took advantage of seven turnovers to set up all their points and got 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns from freshman Shelby Gamble.

In Ivy League openers. Harvard beat Columbia 26-7, Cornell thrashed Penn 52-13, Princeton defeated Dartmouth 16-0 and Yale upset league-favorite Brown 13-12 as Middle Guard Kevin Czinger set up both Eli TDs by blocking two punts.

1. PENN STATE (1-1)
2. PITTSBURGH (1-1)
3. SYRACUSE (2-1)

MIDWEST

After Purdue, trailing 20-7 early in the third period, overcame Notre Dame 28-22, Boilermaker Linebacker Keena Turner had a ready explanation for his team's resurgence. To be sure, it helped that Wally Jones had put Purdue in front 21-20 by scoring on two short bursts in the third quarter. It had certainly helped that Mark Herrmann climaxed a 63-yard drive in the fourth period with a six-yard TD pass to Bart Burrell, to whom he has been throwing since seventh grade. And, of course, the defense's stubbornness in the late going had been invaluable. But Turner felt these deeds had been motivated by and transcended in significance by something that had happened way back on Tuesday. "We all met on the hill outside the stadium [Ross-Ade, where a state-record crowd of 70,567 saw Saturday's game]," he said. "It was a unity meeting [ Purdue had lost to UCLA the week before] and it got us back together."

In all, Big Ten teams came out on top in four of seven other home games against non-conference opponents. Ohio State's big plays led to a 45-29 defeat of Washington State. Quarterback Art Schlichter nailed his receivers on eight of 13 passes, which were good for 233 yards. Five of them were hauled in by Doug Donley, who rolled up 138 yards with his receptions. The most spectacular play, though, came when Schlichter and Tailback Cal Murray teamed up on an 86-yard TD throw, the longest in Buckeye history.