TAMPA, Fla. — Tony Pike left the field clutching his non-throwing arm, but unbeaten Cincinnati's high-powered, quick-strike offense kept rolling against South Florida.

The eighth-ranked Bearcats got two touchdown passes from their senior quarterback before he left in the third quarter with a sprained left wrist, then backup Zach Collaros ran 75 yards for the first of his two rushing TDs in a 34-17 victory over the 21st-ranked Bulls last night.

"We're kind of accustomed to it, which isn't a good thing. You never want to see your starting quarterback go down," Collaros said. "I just try to be as well-prepared as I possibly can."

Coach Brian Kelly said Pike, who broke his left forearm last season and played with a plate and six screws that are still in place, will miss Cincinnati's next game, at home Oct. 24 against Louisville.

"The plate that's in there has shifted," Kelly said, adding that it has not been determined if the injury will require surgery. Pike will be examined by a specialist today.

The Bearcats did not make Pike available to the media in the locker room, citing team policy regarding injured players.

Collaros squirted through an opening in the middle of the defense for his long touchdown three plays after entering the game. Pike was injured late in the first half, then left after being hit as he released an incomplete pass on Cincinnati's first possession of the second half.

Pike threw scoring passes of 3 and 8 yards to Armon Binns in the second quarter, helping the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 Big East) to a 17-10 halftime lead over South Florida (5-1, 1-1), which has lost six consecutive games against Top 25 teams.

The Bulls led early on B.J. Daniels' 28-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester, and closed within 24-17 late in the third quarter when safety Nate Allen intercepted an ill-advised pass by Collaros to set up a 1-yard TD run by Daniels.

But Collaros, one of two freshmen quarterbacks who bailed Cincinnati out after two starters — Dustin Grutza and Pike — were injured early last season, was not rattled by the mistake. He led a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that restored the 14-point lead.

"He's a gamer," Kelly said. "He's athletic, and we did what we had to do with him in the game, and that was obviously run him, control clock, play good defense and get out of here with a win."

PENN STATE

EX-TAILBACK SUES

A former Penn State tailback who hoped to play in the NFL claims in a lawsuit that authorities ruined his professional aspirations after filing a rape charge against him that was later dropped.

An attorney for Austin Scott filed the civil suit this week against Centre County prosecutors, Penn State police and the university in federal court in Williamsport, Pa. The suit said Scott suffered "mental pain and suffering" and diminished "earning capacity" because of the case.

Scott never played for the Nittany Lions after coach Joe Paterno suspended him in October 2007 for violating team rules. Police charged Scott a week later.

"Two years later, we are convinced his professional football career is over. Neither the NFL nor the CFL is looking at him because of the scarlet letter he has on his forehead," Scott's attorney John Karoly said last night.

Prosecutors withdrew the charges in April 2008 after the state Superior Court ruled jurors could hear testimony about the alleged victim's involvement in a separate sexual assault case in 2003. The defendant in that case was acquitted.

Centre County District Attorney Michael Madiera's office said then in a statement that charges were dropped because there was "no reasonable likelihood" it could meet the burden of proof.

Scott's career at Penn State was hindered by injuries and lesser off-field issues. He had 302 yards and six touchdowns on 69 carries in five games in 2007 before being suspended.

NOTES

• Devan James rushed for 103 yards on 22 carries and Carlton Jackson threw two touchdown passes to lead Morgan State (5-1, 2-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) to a 14-7 victory over Howard (2-4, 0-3) last night.

• Arkansas running back Michael Smith's playing status remains in doubt for tomorrow's game against No. 1 Florida. Coach Bobby Petrino said yesterday Smith, who rushed for 145 yards against Auburn last week before tweaking his hamstring, would be a "game-time decision."