Mountain West Conference News and Notes - Los Angeles Times
Philadelphia, PA —
AIR FORCE: Against nationally-ranked TCU, the Falcons started off slow on Saturday and were never able to recover as they suffered the 35-19 conference loss at home. Air Force, which defeated South Dakota in its opener (37-20), trailed by three touchdowns in the first half before kicker Parker Herrington finally got the hosts on the board with a 37-yard field goal. Quarterback Tim Jefferson converted 9-of-15 passes for 83 yards and added another 40 yards rushing on 13 attempts as the Falcons generated 249 yards and a score on 43 running plays. Connor Dietz, who scored on a one-yard run in the waning moments of the meeting, hit on two of his five pass attempts for 52 yards as the Falcons recorded a total of 167 passing yards in the meeting. This week the academy continues its stand at home with a first-ever meeting against FCS foe Tennessee State.
BOISE STATE: Ranked fourth in the latest Associated Press poll, the Broncos get back to action on Friday night this week, taking on the Toledo Rockets in Ohio. Boise State, which defeated Georgia in Atlanta during the first week of the season by a score of 35-21, won the only previous meeting with Toledo by a whopping 57-14 margin last year on the blue turf. Boise State is set to appear in front of the hometown fans finally on September 24 when it hosts Tulsa in non-conference action.COLORADO STATE: The Rams moved out to a 28-0 lead at the break, 31-0 in the third quarter and never looked back as they crushed in-state rival Northern Colorado on Saturday by a final of 33-14. Colorado State, which ran 83 offensive plays compared to just 43 for the visitors, got a pair of rushing touchdowns from Raymond Carter who finished with an even 100 yards on 18 carries. Quarterback Pete Thomas, who managed to get an impressive 242 yards and three touchdowns from the rushing attack, converted 28-of-42 passes for 259 yards and a score, but in all that he was sacked two times and was picked off three times. Next up for the Rams is a bout with Colorado in their annual battle in Denver. The Buffaloes, who are now members of the Pac-12 Conference, won last year's tilt by a 24-3 margin and own a 60-20-2 edge in the all-time series.
NEW MEXICO: Pitted against 14th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday, the Lobos were far out of their element as they suffered an ugly 52-3 loss on the road. UNM, which has now dropped five straight and 13 of the last 14 outings, got a 47- yard field goal from James Aho in the first quarter, but that was the end of the scoring for the squad as it produced 297 yards of total offense compared to 632 yards for the Razorbacks. Tarean Austin finished 15-of-28 for 162 yards before giving way to B.R. Holbrook who converted 7-of-10 passes for another 40 yards in the disappointing effort. Austin was also first on the team with 31 yards rushing on seven attempts. The Lobos are set to host Texas Tech this coming weekend, an opponent that owns a 35-6-2 advantage in the all-time series between the squads. Last season, the Red Raiders demolished New Mexico by a score of 52-17.
SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs moved to 2-0 on the season and logged their fourth straight win dating back to last season on Saturday afternoon as they held on for the 23-20 win at Army. San Diego State, which has defeated all three service academies within the last 10 games, scored its first TD of the day on a 68-yard pass from Ryan Lindley to Colin Lockett just moments into the meeting and appeared to be well on the way to a comfortable victory after Ronnie Hillman scored on a 16-yard run with 5:33 remaining in the opening frame, but the matchup got tighter as the day wore on. Hillman, who scored on a 20-yard run in the third quarter as well, finished with a team-high 117 yards on 17 attempts, while Lindley converted just 8-of-18 passes for 146 yards. Defensively, the Aztecs permitted a whopping 403 yards and three TDs on the ground. Next on the schedule for SDSU is a meeting with Washington State at home this Saturday, the Cougars owning a 1-0 edge in the all-time series thanks to a 45-17 triumph in 2007.
TCU: After being knocked around by Baylor in the season opener last week, the Horned Frogs rebounded by streaking out to a 21-0 lead over Air Force in the Mountain West Conference opener for both programs on Saturday, eventually claiming a 35-19 win on the road. Quarterback Casey Pachall converted all but five of his 25 pass attempts, leading to 206 yards and a couple of touchdowns for the visitors. Matthew Tucker registered consecutive rushing touchdowns of one and three yards in the first and second quarters, respectively, finishing with a game-high 99 yards on 16 carries for an offense that produced 208 yards and three TDs on the ground overall. Despite capturing the win and evening its record at 1-1, TCU is still ranked 112th in the country in total defense, allowing 490 ypg as it prepares to welcome ULM for the home opener this Saturday, the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
UNLV: The Rebels, who bowed to nationally-ranked Wisconsin in the season opener by a lopsided score of 51-17, generated just 158 yards of total offense on Saturday as they were slapped around by Washington State in Pullman, 59-7. Quarterback Caleb Herring completed only 11-of-20 passes for a meager 60 yards and could do very little as the Cougars scored on their first five possessions. Defensively, the Rebels allowed a staggering 610 yards of offense to WSU. The only points of the game scored by the visitors came courtesy of a 95-yard kickoff return by Tim Cornett with just 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. Even though the Rebels are winless in their first two games of the season and have been outscored by a combined 110-24, head coach Bobby Hauck was given a vote of confidence by the school earlier this week when he was approved for a two-year contract extension. The team is set to play its first game at home this Saturday as it welcomes the Hawaii Warriors to the desert.
WYOMING: Brett Smith ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third as the Cowboys demolished visiting Texas State, 45-10, in Laramie on Saturday night. Smith, who gained 73 yards on nine rushing attempts, converted 16-of-31 pass attempts for 236 yards and a couple of interceptions in the lopsided decision. Ghaali Muhammad led all ball carriers with 124 yards on 10 attempts, landing in the end zone once, while Brandon Miller's 101 yards on the ground meant the team had a pair of 100-yard rushers for the first time since November of last year. Wyoming produced a total of 382 yards on the ground, the most since going up against New Mexico last season when the team tallied 392. The Pokes registered 618 yards of total offense, the most since the program logged 659 yards against Hawaii in 1995. Next up for Wyoming is a road test against Bowling Green, an opponent that won the first meeting in the series in 2008 by a score of 45-16.
13 Sep, 2011--
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