Far West Roundup : Bosco Does a Snow Job on Utah State

The snow was coming down so hard during Brigham Young’s 44-0 victory over Utah State Saturday at Logan, Utah, that Cougar quarterback Robbie Bosco found himself aiming for anything in blue pants.

Despite the driving storm, Bosco picked apart the Utah State defense, connecting on two touchdown passes as the 18th-ranked Cougars buried their upstate rivals.

“Once in the first half, it was so hard to see, all I could see was the receivers’ thigh pads,” Bosco said. “You couldn’t see above their legs, so I just threw to spots. I aimed for blue pants.”

Before leaving the game late in the second quarter with a pinched nerve in his upper left arm, Bosco completed 14 of 19 passes for 220 yards in staking BYU to a 21-0 lead. He was not seriously injured.

The nonconference win gave the Cougars, who face No. 5 Air Force next Saturday, an 8-2 record and dropped the Aggies of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. to 2-8.

A half-foot of snow fell on a record 29,024 fans at Romney Stadium.

BYU had 600 yards of total offense, including 401 passing on 27 completions in 41 attempts by three quarterbacks.

Wyoming 41, San Diego State 20--Backup quarterback Scott Runyan threw for two touchdowns, and Toriano Taylor rushed for 166 yards and a score as Wyoming snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory at Laramie, Wyo.

Wyoming is 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. San Diego State is 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the WAC after losing its fifth straight.

The game started in snow and winds that produced a wind-chill factor of minus-4 degrees. The crowd was just 1,946, the smallest in War Memorial Stadium’s 35-year history.

Wyoming Coach Al Kincaid suspended nine players for being late for a bus taking the team to a local theater for a movie Friday night. Kincaid said the nine, which included three defensive starters, were suspended for one game.

Utah 58, New Mexico 49--Larry Egger passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more at Salt Lake City to lead Utah in a game that tied the WAC record for most points scored, 107. In 1972, Arizona State, then of the WAC, beat Utah, 59-48.

Erroll Tucker returned a punt 62 yards for another Utah score to raise his NCAA single-season record to six touchdowns by a return specialist.

Willie Turral rushed for 191 yards and scored four touchdowns for New Mexico as the Lobos equaled an NCAA record for most points by a losing team.

The Utes improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the WAC, while New Mexico dropped to 2-7 and 1-5.

Hawaii 23, Texas El Paso 7--Warren Jones took over for injured quarterback Gregg Tipton to complete 11 of 19 passes for130 yards to lead Hawaii to a WAC victory at El Paso, Tex. Hawaii is 4-4-1 overall and 4-1 inthe WAC. UTEP is 1-8 and 1-5.

Colorado St. 35, So. Mississippi 17--Steve Bartalo rambled through the snow for 124 yards and two touchdowns at Fort Collins, Colo., to lead Colorado State (3-6) over Southern Mississippi (6-3).

Cal Poly SLO 34, Portland State 21--Senior running back Jim Gleed carried 26 times for 158 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs in a Western Football Conference game at San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly is 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference. Portland State is 3-5 and 1-2.