Far West Roundup : Bosco Passes for 585 Yards; BYU Wins, 45-23

Quarterback Robbie Bosco threw for a Western Athletic Conference record 585 yards and 4 touchdowns as No. 9 Brigham Young rallied in the second half to subdue New Mexico, 45-23, Saturday night at Albuquerque, N.M.

Bosco completed 11 straight passes and guided the defending national champions to two quick second-half touchdowns that keyed the Cougar rally in a game that saw the teams throw 105 passes.

Bosco completed 42 of 61 passes in breaking the previous WAC passing yardage mark of 571 yards, set by BYU’s Marc Wilson against Utah in 1977.

Bosco threw three touchdown passes in the second half when BYU broke the game open.

BYU, which has won 30 of its last 31 games and 25 straight in the WAC, upped its record to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in league. New Mexico is now 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the WAC.

Air Force 35, Colorado State 19--Quarterback Bart Weiss awoke his sluggish team by directing two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, and free safety Scott Thomas added another score on a 36-yard interception return as 10th-ranked Air Force held off Colorado State in a Western Athletic Conference game at Fort Collins, Colo.

The victory, which raised the Falcons’ record to 7-0 and WAC mark to 4-0, spoiled a workhorse effort by Colorado State fullback Steve Bartalo, who rushed a WAC-record 47 times for a personal-high 207 yards and scored once.

Air Force was clinging to a 14-13 lead with two minutes left in the third period when Weiss broke loose on runs of 11, 19 and 11 yards, then pitched to halfback Randy Jones, who scored from 10 yards out on the second play of the final quarter.

The Rams countered with a long scoring drive of their own as quarterback Kelly Stouffer scrambled the final eight yards. When Stouffer’s pass fell incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt, Colorado State trailed, 21-19, with 8:58 left to play.

However, 66 seconds later Air Force scored again. Weiss sprinted for a 44-yard gain to start the drive, and fullback Johnny Smith finished it, bursting 29 yards up the middle for a 28-19 lead.

On Colorado State’s next play from scrimmage, Thomas picked off a Stouffer pass and returned it for the clinching score.

The loss dropped the Rams to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

Fresno State 48, New Mexico St. 21--Quarterback Kevin Sweeney ran for one touchdown and passed for another to lead Fresno State in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at Las Cruces, N.M.

The win upped Fresno State’s record to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0 in the PCAA. New Mexico State, which has yet to win a conference game since joining the PCAA in 1984, dropped to 1-5 and 0-3.

Utah 39, San Diego St. 37--Andre Guardi kicked a 42-yard field goal on the final play to give Utah a Western Athletic Conference victory at San Diego.

Utah is now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the WAC. San Diego 3-3 and 1-2.