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Mountain West roundup
Mountain West Game of the Week
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Utah 20, No. 19 Brigham Young 17 |
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All BYU had to do to win the inaugural MWC title outright was win one of its final two games. After losing last week to Wyoming, the Cougars saw those hopes go to waste against the arch rival Utah Utes, who clinched a share of the conference title despite the absence of starting QB Darnell Arceneaux.
Utah held a 6-3 lead at halftime, only to have BYU jump ahead when Margin Hooks hauled in a 78-yard TD pass from Kevin Feterik in the third quarter, giving the Cougars a 10-6 edge. Utah, however, answered with a pair of T.D. Croshaw scoring passes. The first of those was a 70-yarder to Cliff Russell. Later, his four-yard hookup with Donny Utu gave the Utes all the room they would need. Though they must share the title, the loss might not have cost BYU (8-3, 5-2) anything as far as its bowl prospect are concerned. The Liberty Bowl would have its choice of any teams tied for the MWC crown, and having spent most of the season in the national rankings, the Cougars would still be an attractive choice. If passed over for the Liberty Bowl, the Utes (8-3, 5-2) could land in the Las Vegas Bowl.
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Other MWC action
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Colorado State 41, Air Force 21 |
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Colorado State routed arch-rival Air Force (6-4, 2-4) on Thursday night, generating 254 yards rushing and 231 passing to keep the Falcons defense off-balance throughout the game. Running back Kevin McDougal rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown and threw for another to help Colorado State end a two-game losing streak to the Falcons.
Matt Newton threw two TD passes to Pete Rebstock and scrambled 4 yards
for a third score as the Rams (7-3, 4-2 Mountain West) stayed in contention for both a bowl bid and a share of the conference title. |
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Wyoming 42, New Mexico 28 |
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Cliff Brye rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Jay Stoner threw three touchdown passes to lift Wyoming over New Mexico, keeping the Cowboys' bowl hopes alive. Brye's scoring runs of 41 and 78 yards boosted Wyoming (7-3, 4-2 Mountain West) to its third straight win and sent New Mexico (3-7, 2-4) to its third consecutive loss. Wyoming has won nine of 10 against the Lobos.
His 41-yard run lifted Wyoming to a 28-14 lead at the 7:25 mark of the third quarter. It came after teammate Robbie Duncan broke up a fourth-down pass intended for New Mexico safety-wide receiver Brian Urlacher, who caught two scores to keep the Lobos close. |
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San Diego State 37, UNLV 7 |
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UNLV (3-7, 1-5) hung with the Aztecs early, but was outscored 28-0 after the first quarter and lost its fourth straight game. SDSU QB Jack Hawley, whose status as the starter was questioned much of the week, threw a pair of scoring passes while Larry Ned found the end zone on a pair of short runs to help the Aztecs stop a modest two-game losing skid. SDSU (4-6, 2-4) closes the season hosting Wyoming next week.
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