WAC Roundup : Wyoming Extends Winning Streak

Wyoming quarterback Randy Welniak punished the Colorado State defense in every way possible.

When he wasn’t handing off to his running backs for big gains, Welniak had ample time to throw on play after play. And when things broke down, he scrambled for yards.

Welniak, who sat out the 4th quarter, accounted for 286 of Wyoming’s 531 yards of total offense as the 10th-ranked Cowboys routed rival Colorado State, 48-14, Saturday at Ft. Collins, Colo.

Welniak completed 15 of 22 passes for 177 yards and rushed for a game-high 109 yards, 80 of which came on scrambles.

“He scrambled more than I would care for,” Wyoming Coach Paul Roach said. “But he had to a few times when CSU blitzed. He’s been our catalyst ever since the (season-opening) BYU game.”

Welniak ran for 2 second-quarter touchdowns and passed for another, giving the Cowboys a 24-0 halftime lead.

“Whatever it takes to win is all right with me,” Welniak said.

The Cowboys (9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference), extended their regular-season winning streak to 18 games--longest in the country.

Colorado State fell to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the conference. Coach Leon Fuller said Wyoming “deserves its ranking. That’s one of the most talented teams we have played against.”

Utah 41, San Diego State 20--Scott Mitchell passed for 383 yards and Bryan Bero and Eddie Johnson each scored a pair of touchdowns as Utah beat San Diego State in a WAC game at Salt Lake City.

Mitchell, the NCAA total offense leader, threw for just 1 touchdown, a 31-yard toss to Curt Jones, but his passing set up Utah’s other touchdowns. The Utes are 2-4 in the WAC and 3-5 overall. San Diego State drops to 1-4 and 1-7.

BYU 65, New Mexico 0--Freshman Ty Detmer, getting his first collegiate start, threw for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns as Brigham Young University routed New Mexico in a WAC game at Provo, Utah.

Detmer, replacing injured starter Sean Covey, missed on his first 2 passing attempts but then completed 16 of his next 20 for 4 first-half touchdowns. BYU is 4-1 in the WAC and 7-1 overall. The Lobos are 0-5 and 1-8.

The freshman’s 1st touchdown pass went 23 yards to Chuck Cutler, equaling an NCAA record. Cutler has caught a scoring pass in 8 consecutive games, tying the NCAA single-season record shared by 4 others.

Texas-El Paso 42, New Mexico State 9--Pat Hegarty passed for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns and Texas-El Paso’s defense scored twice as the Miners crushed New Mexico State in a non-conference game at Las Cruces, N.M.

UTEP, off to its best start since 1965, is 8-1. The Aggies fell to 1-7.