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College football around the nation

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 29, 2000

W. Virginia rallies to beat Owls

PHILADELPHIA -- Brad Lewis threw for a career-high 242 yards and two touchdowns and directed a late scoring drive as West Virginia beat Temple 29-24 on Thursday night.

West Virginia (3-1, 2-1 Big East) hadn't won on the road since the final game of the 1998 season when it beat Pitt 52-14. The Mountaineers had lost five straight away from Morgantown.

Cooper Rego, who entered the fourth quarter with minus-5 yards rushing, gained 86 on 16 carries.

After Temple (3-2, 0-1) took a 24-23 lead with 9:01 left, West Virginia came back with a nine-play, 88-yard drive, capped by Rego's second 1-yard touchdown run, that made it 29-24 with 5:22 left.

Rego gained the last 49 yards of the drive on the ground.

Lewis, coming off a woeful performance against Miami last week, threw touchdowns of 11 yards to Khori Ivy and 1 yard to Tim Frost as the Mountaineers beat Temple for the 10th straight time. Lewis was 11-for-31 for 113 yards in a 47-10 loss to the Hurricanes.

The Owls were seeking their first 4-1 start since 1979 when they made their last bowl appearance.

Backup Mike Frost threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Owls rallied after blowing a 10-0 lead and allowing 23 straight points.

Frost threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Greg Muckerson on the quarterback's first play of the game to make it 23-17 with 13:28 left. The touchdown came a play after Donnie Coleman recovered a fumble on a punt return.

After Temple held the Mountaineers on the next drive, Frost came back with a 14-yard pass to Charles Cobb to give Temple a 23-17 lead with 9:01 left.

But Rego and West Virginia took control on the ensuing drive.

Temple tailback Tanardo Sharps ran for 113 yards, including a 66-yard run that gave Temple a 10-0 lead just 33 seconds into the second quarter. It was his fourth touchdown of more than 60 yards this season.

West Virginia cut it to 10-7 on a 1-yard run by Rego with 12:05 left in the second quarter. A 63-yard pass from Lewis to Ivy set up the touchdown.

VIRGINIA: After 18-plus years of unprecedented success with George Welsh as its coach, Virginia is beginning to plan for the time when someone else will be roaming the sideline.

In a letter to an independent Web site devoted to Cavaliers sports, athletic director Terry Holland responded to fan concerns about the struggling team by saying there will be a timetable in place by the end of this season for the transition to a new coach.

The letter, posted on The-Sabre.com on Wednesday, does not say when Welsh will leave, but says he has given his support to planning "that will clearly define the coaching transition in a manner that guarantees the protection of our recruiting base and competitive situation."

Holland was traveling Thursday and did not return a phone message left at his office by the Associated Press. Welsh declined to speak with a reporter.

Welsh, 67, has led Virginia to a 130-82-3 record since taking over an inept program in 1982. The Cavaliers are 81-49-3 in the ACC in that time have made 11 bowl appearances, 10 in the last 13 seasons.

Despite his success, Welsh frequently has been the target of disgruntled fans' ire, and the outcry against him has increased in recent years when Virginia has struggled while rival Virginia Tech has become a powerhouse.

SAN JOSE ST.: Tailback Deonce Whitaker, the nation's fifth-leading rusher, will miss the Spartans' next two games as a medical precaution.

Whitaker experienced tingling in his fingers and legs during the Spartans' loss at Southern California Saturday.

After X-rays, an MRI exam and consultation with a spine expert in Los Angeles, the school's training staff and coaches decided to rest Whitaker for two weeks to allow swelling in the area to subside.

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