College football

Big East: Orange's Rhodes runs for 236 in 31-0 victory

By wire services
Published September 11, 2005

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Damien Rhodes ran for 236 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Syracuse to a 31-0 victory over Buffalo on Saturday for Greg Robinson's first win as coach of the Orange.

The Bulls were shut out for the third straight game dating back to last season. They lost 38-0 at Connecticut last week in their season opener and also were beaten 29-0 by the Huskies in the 2004 season finale.

Rhodes' rushing total was 16 yards shy of the school record of 252 yards by Joe Morris against Kansas in 1979 and 5 yards off the Carrier Dome mark set two years ago by Walter Reyes against Central Florida.

Rhodes gained 216 yards on 19 carries and scored three times in the first half to help the Orange take a 24-0 halftime lead. He scored on runs of 27, 50, and 54 yards, the last one alone equaling the Bulls' offensive production for the half.

Buffalo never seriously threatened to score in the game and finished with 123 yards on offense.

RUTGERS 38, VILLANOVA 6: Ryan Hart completed 16 of 22 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown as the host Scarlet Knights snapped a six-game losing streak.

Brian Leonard scored two touchdowns for Rutgers, which ended a two-game losing streak to Division I-AA opponents and avenged a 2002 setback to Wildcats. It also was the Scarlet Knights' first win since they beat Temple on Oct. 16, 2004.

The defeat was made tougher for the Wildcats, who had won their past two against I-A teams, when junior quarterback Marvin Burroughs left early in the third quarter. Burroughs injured his left shoulder at the end of a 7-yard run and was taken to a hospital for X-rays.

Attempting to rebound after blowing a 20-point lead in a loss to Illinois last week, Rutgers got off to a strong start when Willie Foster returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest kickoff return for Rutgers since Gary Melton took one back 94 yards against Northwestern on Sept. 21, 1991.

UCONN 59, LIBERTY 0: The host Huskies scored the first eight times they had the ball in routing the Division I-AA Flames. Matt Bonislawski, who sat out the second half, threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. He completed his first 10 passes. Connecticut amassed 600 yards in offense, 376 rushing. Tailback Cornell Brockington rushed for three touchdowns and 115 yards on 20 carries.

WEST VIRGINIA 35, WOFFORD 7: Adam Bednarik threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score to lead the host Mountaineers. Five players scored for West Virginia. The Mountaineers limited Division I-AA Wofford, which uses a mix of the wishbone and wing-T formations, to 78 yards on 45 carries and 154 yards overall. Last week the Mountaineers held Syracuse to 103 yards.

[Last modified September 11, 2005, 01:14:18]