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AIR FORCE: It was slow going for the Falcons on the road this past weekend,
but putting up 13 points in the fourth quarter solved the academy's issues and
delivered a 20-14 victory in Mountain West Conference play against the Wyoming
Cowboys. Jared Tew, Nathan Walker and Tim Jefferson all scored on the ground
for Air Force as the team advanced to 2-0 in league play this season. The
Falcons pounded the ball on the ground to the tune of 379 yards, with Tew
doing the most damage with his 136 yards on 27 attempts. The Falcons are set
to play the first of two games against the other service academies in the
Football Bowl Subdivision as they host the Navy Midshipmen this weekend in
Colorado. As part of the battle for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, awarded
to the academy that has the best mark in the triangular college series, this
is a matchup that went to Navy last year by a score of 16-13 in overtime.
Nevertheless, Air Force remains the leader in the all-time series with a mark
of 25-17.
BYU: Since defeating Washington in the season opener, the Cougars have gone
downhill fast, losing three in a row following their 27-13 setback to Nevada
at home on Saturday. J.J. DiLuigi managed to score a touchdown on a two-yard
run in the first quarter, but the rest of the scoring for the Cougars came
courtesy of kicker Mitch Payne who knocked through boots of 27 and 29 yards in
the second half. Jake Heaps was forced to take all the snaps for the team
after fellow quarterback Riley Nelson was lost to injury, the signal-caller
responding by converting 25-of-45 passes for 229 yards. Not only did DiLuigi
lead BYU with his 67 yards on 15 carries, he also caught eight balls for
another 56 yards in the losing effort. The Cougars take on their second
straight opponent from the Western Athletic Conference this week as they make
the trip to Logan to face off against in-state rival Utah State on Friday
night. BYU owns a 43-33-3 edge in the series with USU, taking a 35-17 win in
last year's encounter.
COLORADO STATE: The Rams finally got themselves into the win column on
Saturday, thanks to kicker Ben DeLine who knocked through a 35-yard field goal
as time expired to give the home team a 36-34 victory over the Idaho Vandals.
Colorado State rolled up 494 yards of total offense as Pete Thomas hit 29-
of-37 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns, while shaking off an
interception and five sacks in the event. Despite the win, Thomas continues to
be one of the quarterbacks who has had the worst luck in the pocket as CSU now
ranks 119th in the nation in sacks allowed with 4.25 per outing. The Rams play
their second straight home game this weekend, kicking off their Mountain West
Conference slate in the process as they clash with nationally-ranked TCU.
Colorado State has won only once in seven tries in the all-time series and was
crushed by the Frogs last year, 44-6.
NEW MEXICO: The defeats just keep piling up for the Lobos and now they have
fallen in five straight dating back to last season following their 45-10 loss
at UNLV on Saturday night. Surprisingly, UNM led 7-0 in the first quarter
after Tarean Austin hit Bryant Williams with a 48-yard scoring strike, but
after that the offense went to sleep on the Lobos. Austin finished the night a
mere 17-of-40 for 177 yards, was picked off twice and sacked four times. The
Lobos head home this weekend to challenge the UTEP Miners in non-conference
action. New Mexico lost last year's meeting by a score of 10-6, yet the squad
still maintains a 42-30-3 advantage in the all-time series.
SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs picked up their third win in four tries this past
weekend when they crushed Utah State at home by a final of 41-7. In all three
victories SDSU has scored at least 41 points. Quarterback Ryan Lindley threw a
pair of touchdown passes in the first half and three overall as he connected
on 17-of-24 passes for 362 yards in the rout. Vincent Brown used his five
receptions to log a game-high 177 yards and a pair of scores for a team that
held Utah State to just 245 yards of total offense. The Aztecs catch their
first break of the season this week and won't be back in action until October
9th when they drop in on the BYU Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
SDSU bowed in last year's meeting, 38-28, and as a result trails in the all-
time series, 26-7-1.
TCU: The Horned Frogs were a little slow getting out of the gate on Friday
night, but in the end the visitors still reclaimed the Iron Skillet with their
41-24 win over the SMU Mustangs in Dallas. Waymon James posted a pair of
rushing touchdowns for TCU, while the defense also stepped up in the second
half and picked up a 19-yard interception return for a score by Tejay Johnson
to put the game out of reach. Andy Dalton had a poor game by his standards,
completing just 14-of-26 passes for 174 yards and a score, but also tossed a
couple of interceptions. Last year TCU, which dropped one spot in this week's
AP poll from fourth to fifth because of the tight game, held the Ponies to
minus-16 yards rushing. This time around SMU tallied 192 yards. The Horned
Frogs are out on the road again this weekend as they challenge the Colorado
State Rams in the Mountain West Conference opener at Hughes Stadium. TCU
crushed the Rams last season, 44-6, and now owns a 6-1 advantage in the all-
time series as result.
UNLV: The Rebels broke out in a big way on Saturday night as they completely
dominated New Mexico at home, 45-10. After UNM scored the first touchdown of
the game in the opening period, the Rebels went on to score a pair of
touchdowns in each of the first three quarters to leave no doubt that UNLV
could finally make it into the win column. Omar Clayton converted 14-of-20
passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns to keep the aerial attack moving
forward, while Channing Trotter finally got something going on the ground with
his 15 carries for 63 yards and a score in the romp. Putting his name in for
MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors was receiver Max Johnson who collected
eight passes for 138 yards and all three of Clayton's passing throws. The
fight for the Fremont Cannon and bragging rights in the Silver State are on
the line for the Rebels this weekend as they entertain the Nevada Wolf Pack.
UNLV dropped last year's meeting by a score of 63-28 and that means the squad
from Sin City now trails in the all-time series by a count of 20-15.
UTAH: The Utes took a little time to warm up on Saturday, but once they did
there was no stopping them as they crushed San Jose State at home by a final
of 56-3. Back under center for Utah was Jordan Wynn who completed 14-of-18
passes for 124 yards and a couple of touchdowns, but it was the rushing attack
of the nationally-ranked squad that did the most damage with 272 yards and
five touchdowns on 40 attempts. The Utah defense held the Spartans to a mere
seven first downs and 172 yards of total offense. The next test for the Utes,
who enter this week ranked 13th in the nation, doesn't come until October 9th,
which means they have plenty of time to prepare for their trip to Iowa State.
The Cyclones have taken all four of the previous meetings in the series, but
the most recent of those took place nearly 35 years ago when ISU captured a
44-14 victory.
WYOMING: Alvester Alexander tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns for the
Cowboys in the second and third quarters, but even his effort was not enough
to keep Wyoming from falling at home to Air Force on Saturday, 20-14.
Alexander finished with 22 carries for 123 yards, helping the Pokes post 174
yards and a couple of scores on the ground, but even still that was half of
what the Falcons were able to muster with their rushing attack. Austyn Carta-
Samuels converted a mere 6-of-11 passes for 66 yards and an interception for a
Wyoming group that has now dropped three straight since opening 2010 with a
28-20 victory over Southern Utah. The Cowboys hit the road for two straight
beginning this weekend, taking on the Toledo Rockets for the first time in
school history. Toledo is coming off a huge 31-20 upset win against Purdue to
cap a three-game road trip that saw the Rockets also take care of Ohio
University and Western Michigan.