Box Score SAVANNAH, Ga. - Howard University's Greg McGhee threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, and William Parker ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns, to lead the Bison to a 51-21 victory over Savannah State University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday night at T.A. Wright Stadium.
 
A crowd of 2,102 watched as Howard (3-7 overall, 2-5 MEAC) amassed 607 yards of total offense on 83 plays. McGhee was 28-of-45 passing and threw one interception. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior from Pittsburgh, Pa., threw touchdown passes of 3, 8, 9 and 12 yards.
 
"Kudos to that quarterback," SSU head coach Earnest Wilson III said of McGhee. "He's special. That dude is special and he understands the game. I told my quarterbacks, 'This guy is heady and steady.' He knows exactly how to dump the ball off. I've had the chance to work with some good quarterbacks, from Peyton Manning to whatever, and that dude does throws just right. He's dumping the ball off to those guys sitting on the edge and they run up the sideline. He's doing some other things with the ball in the middle.
 
"They run great routes and come back to the ball. That's how a passing offense is supposed to look. You're supposed to walk them down the field like a running game. And he did exactly that tonight. And then they complemented it with the run game. That was the difference."
 
SSU (0-10, 0-7 MEAC) needed only six plays to drive 65 yards on its opening possession but on first-and-goal at Howard's 4-yard line, Alex Simmons fumbled the ball into the end zone and Eric Pittman recovered for the Bison.
 
Howard's first drive stalled, then SSU's second drive stalled, and the Bison scored on their second drive when Parker ran for a 1-yard touchdown to cap an eight-play, 60-yard drive. John Fleck kicked the first of his seven extra points, giving Howard a 7-0 lead with 5:26 left in the first quarter.
 
SSU, on its ensuing drive, tied the game at 7 when quarterback Tino Smith ran for a 57 yard touchdown and John Barron kicked the first of his three extra points with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers' drive covered 75 yards in four plays.
 
"We ran (that play) every single day in practice. Multiple times," said Smith, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman from Carmel, Ind., "Coach just told me when you see a hole to just go, and that's what I did. I saw a hole and I just ran as hard as I could until I got to the back of the end zone."
 
Smith was at quarterback in place of sophomore Leon Prunty, who started the game at quarterback. Smith ran for 101 yards on 10 carries, becoming the first SSU player to run for more than 100 yards this season. The Tigers' previous rushing high this season was Richard Williams' 87 yards against North Carolina Central.
 
"In high school, I was a pocket passer," Smith said. "I had injuries to my leg that made me stay in the pocket. That never happened before in high school. I'm just working, trying to make plays for my team and get first downs, move the sticks. Coach (Wilson) tells us first downs lead to touchdowns, and that's what I was trying to do."
 
But Howard went up 14-7 on Parker's 62-yard touchdown run with 2:47 left in the first quarter. In the first quarter, the 6-foot, 210-pound junior from Stone Mountain, Ga., ran eight times for 112 yards, including both touchdowns.
 
Parker finished the game with 175 yards on 19 carries, spearheading a ground attack that amassed 289 yards. SSU finished the game with 10 players combining for 161 yards on 29 carries. Williams ran four times for 38 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
 
SSU tried to punt on fourth-and-6 from the Tigers' 29-yard line but Vincent Harper snapped the ball over Barron's head and the ball bounced into the end zone. Barron kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone, giving Howard a safety and a 16-7 lead with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
 
With 11:47 remaining in the second quarter, and SSU facing fourth-and-goal at Howard's 1-yard line, Barron's 18-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Howard's Robert Mercer.
 
The Bison went up 23-7 on McGhee's 3-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Terrance Tusan, and they staked a 30-7 advantage on McGhee's 8-yard touchdown strike to Richard Aiyegoro.
 
SSU cut the score to 30-14 at halftime thanks to Smith's 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Harris with 1:45 left before the break.
 
In the third quarter, SSU cut it to 30-21 with Williams' 36-yard touchdown run but Howard's McGhee answered with touchdown passes of 9 and 12 yards to Matthew Colvin and Myles Williams, respectively, for a 44-21 lead.
 
The Bison made it 51-21 on Aquanius Freeman's 5-yard touchdown run with 8:57 left in the game.
 
SSU's Prunty finished 9-of-15 passing for 119 yards, and Smith was 7-of-17 passing for 65 yards. Neither of SSU's quarterbacks threw an interception.
 
SSU linebacker Trevion Ashford made a game-high 10 tackles, while Justin Dixon and Leonardo Myers finished with nine apiece. The Tigers played without standout linebacker Marquis Smith, who was sidelined because of a leg injury.
 
SSU's next game is at 2 p.m. Saturday against North Carolina A&T at T.A. Wright Stadium. The Tigers will finish the season Nov. 22 at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.