College Football : Western Athletic Conference Roundup : BYU Stays on Ground, Downs Air Force

Sean Covey ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as Brigham Young unleashed an uncommonly effective rushing attack to shoot down Air Force, 49-31, Saturday at Air Force Academy, Colo.

The Cougars, keeping their bowl possibilities alive, improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.

The loss was the third straight for Air Force (5-5, 3-3).

BYU, which came into the game averaging nearly three times as much yardage passing as rushing, generated 324 yards on the ground against the Falcons--most of it on draw plays and delays.

The Cougars spotted Air Force a 10-0 lead, then rallied to take a 21-17 halftime lead.

Air Force led, 31-28, with 3:09 left in the third quarter, but a 79-yard kickoff-return touchdown by Troy Crutchfield gave BYU the lead for good.

UTEP 58, San Diego St. 7--Quarterback Pat Hegarty threw for 244 yards and a touchdown as Texas El Paso defeated the Aztecs at El Paso.

The Miners (9-2, 5-2) are expected to earn an Independence Bowl bid next weekend. San Diego State, which upset Brigham Young last week, slipped to 2-8 and 2-5.

Hegarty completed 15 of 23 passes with no interceptions before leaving the game with a 48-0 lead.

New Mexico 24, Colorado St. 23--Jeremy Leach threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tony Jones with no time remaining as the Lobos won its first WAC game in 2 years at Albuquerque, N.M.

A crowd of 8,180, the second-lowest attendance ever for a game at University Stadium, was on hand as the Lobos also won their first home game in 2 years. The Lobos are now 2-9 overall and 1-6 in the WAC. Colorado State is 1-9 and 1-7.