Tue Sep 2 14:12:09 2008

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Mountain West Conference News and Notes

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - AIR FORCE: The Falcons began their 2008 campaign on Saturday with a resounding 41-7 win over Southern Utah at home, scoring at least seven points in every quarter and beginning with a safety midway through the first period. The academy controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes, keeping the ball on the ground for a total of 433 yards on 76 plays. Quarterback Shea Smith led the attack with a game-high 91 yards and a score on 16 attempts, while also connecting on 8-of-12 passing for another 75 yards and a TD. Next up for the Falcons is a Mountain West Conference test against the Wyoming Cowboys, Saturday in Laramie. Air Force leads that series by a count of 23-20-3, winning two straight thanks to a 20-12 victory in last year's meeting in Colorado.

BYU: The Cougars kept the nation's longest winning streak on the move with their 41-17 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Nationally-ranked BYU, which has now won 11 games in a row overall and 13 straight at home, was paced by quarterback Max Hall who converted 34-of-41 attempts for 486 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Harvey Unga took the bulk of the carries with his 18 attempts, leading to 64 yards and a pair of scores of his own on the ground. The Cougars hit the road this weekend to take on Washington in Seattle, an adversary that has won four of the previous six meetings with BYU.

COLORADO STATE: The Rams dropped their Mile High Rivalry meeting with Colorado at Invesco Field in Denver to begin the 2008 season on Sunday by a score of 38-17. Quarterback Billy Farris had his ups and downs with his 27-of-37 effort for 187 yards and a touchdown, but he was also picked off twice in the head coaching debut of former CSU signal-caller Steve Fairchild. Gartrell Johnson accounted for 95 yards rushing on 12 attempts in the losing effort as well. The Rams play their first home game of 2008 this weekend as they host the Sacramento State Hornets at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughs Stadium. The meeting is the first-ever between the two schools on the football field.

NEW MEXICO: As if starting off the 2008 season against a Mountain West Conference opponents were not enough, the Lobos had to do so without their starting quarterback, Donovan Porterie, for much of the game after he suffered a neck injury in the first half. Needless to say, UNM failed to live up to expectations as they dealt with their adversity in a 26-3 home loss to TCU in Albuquerque. Backup signal-caller Brad Gruner made his first pass completion a memorable one for the Lobos as he connected with Chris Hernandez on an 81-yard strike, yet the team still could not get into the end zone. UNM finished with a mere 56 yards rushing and 186 yards of offense overall. Next up for the Lobos is Texas A&M this weekend, the second of three straight home games to start the season. A&M won the only previous meeting between the schools by a score of 63-0, but that contest took place more than eight decades ago in 1926 in College Station.

SAN DIEGO STATE: Scoring a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter on Saturday, the Aztecs gave themselves a fighting chance against Cal Poly in their non-conference opener, but that opportunity was extinguished in the waning moments as the Mustangs nailed a 21-yard field goal at the gun to claim a 29-27 decision at Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley converted 27-of-45 passing for 352 yards and three touchdowns, but he was also picked off twice and sacked two times in the setback. The squad finished with a meager 27 yards rushing on 23 attempts. This coming weekend the Aztecs have a bit of a tougher test against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, a team that they are meeting for the first-time ever.

TCU: After just one week of football the Horned Frogs of TCU have the only Mountain West Conference victory and hold an early lead in the league standings, thanks to a 26-3 blow out of New Mexico in Albuquerque on Saturday. TCU opened the contest with a 50-yard field goal by Ross Evans less than five minutes into the first quarter and never looked back, building a 16-0 edge by the half. Quarterback Andy Dalton not only converted 16-of-25 passing for 120 yards, he also led the ground attack for the Horned Frogs with his 17 carries for 56 yards and a pair of TDs for the visitors. Defensively, TCU knocked out the starting quarterback for the Lobos and held the home team to a total of just 186 yards of offense on 56 plays, compared to 291 yards and 74 snaps for the Frogs. This weekend the Horned Frogs get their first-ever look at Stephen F. Austin as they open up home field play in Fort Worth.

UNLV: With just a pair of wins each of the last three seasons, the UNLV Rebels managed to get off on the right foot in 2008 by posting a 27-17 win over Utah State at home on Saturday. Quarterback Omar Clayton converted 17-of-29 passing for 192 yards and three touchdowns. Just as importantly, Clayton was not sacked, nor was he picked off on the night. Ryan Wolfe proved to be his favorite target, collecting seven balls for 103 yards and two of those touchdowns. Wasting little time to get into Mountain West Conference action, the Rebels take on Utah this weekend in Salt Lake City. Last season UNLV shocked the Utes at home in Sin City with a 27-0 shut out. The victory was just the second in 13 meetings for the Rebels against Utah over the years.

UTAH: Although they were picked to finish behind BYU in the conference this season, the Utah Utes made a case for being the better team in the MWC early on as they went into the Big House and set down the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 25-23. Quarterback Brian Johnson, who was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Week, was on fire in the first half for the Utes, recording close to 300 yards passing, yet he finished with only 305 yards overall as the offense stalled in the second half. Suffering six sacks on the afternoon, Johnson and the Utes relied on kicker Louie Sakoda (MWC Special Teams Player of the Week) to bail them out, which he did to the tune of four field goals, with a career long of 53 yards in the third quarter. Utah comes home this weekend to open up action both in the MWC and at Rice-Eccles Stadium with a date against UNLV. Last season Utah lost just four games, one of those to UNLV in a 27-0 shutout in Las Vegas.

WYOMING: Head Coach Joe Glenn saw his newest starting quarterback, Dax Crum, lead the Cowboys on a 13-play, 84-yard drive in the final quarter against a visiting Ohio University squad, culminating with a 23-yard TD pass to Donate Morgan midway through the frame. Thanks to the successful PAT by Jake Scott, Wyoming survived with the 21-20 victory over the Bobcats in non-conference play. Crum was picked off twice in the decision, but he also tossed a couple touchdowns along the way. Running back Devin Moore posted 82 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries as well. Next up for the Pokes is a bit stiffer competition this weekend in Air Force, a familiar foe from Mountain West Conference. The Cowboys trail in the all-time series with Air Force by a mark of 23-20-3, but are still ahead of the Falcons in Laramie, 11-8-2.