BIG WEST ROUNDUP : Craver Leads Fresno St. Past Pacific, 48-17

Aaron Craver rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns to lead Fresno State to a 48-17 Big West victory against the University of the Pacific Saturday night at Fresno.

Fresno State, 8-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the conference, broke the game open in the first half, taking a 34-0 lead.

After two field goals by Derek Mahoney opened the scoring, Craver, a junior college transfer from El Camino, scored on a 37-yard run. He also had a one-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Quarterback Mark Barsotti, who passed for 290 yards, hooked up with Chris Gawley on a 47-yard touchdown pass play, and Lorenzo Neal had a two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Pacific quarterback Troy Kopp, ranked third in the nation in passing, finished with 249 yards passing, but the majority of that came in the second half after Fresno had pulled many of its starters.

Kopp, from Mission Viejo, had a 64-yard touchdown pass play to Aaron Turner and a two-yard scoring pass to Melvin Johnson.

Craver’s final score came on a two-yard run in the third quarter and James Allison scored on a three-yard run to finish off Fresno’s scoring.

Pacific (4-6, 3-4) finished with minus one yard rushing.

Fresno State will play San Jose State at San Jose next Saturday to determine the Big West championship.

The winner will play Central Michigan in the California Raisin Bowl in Fresno Dec. 8. Central Michigan tied for the Mid-American Conference championship with a 52-7 victory over Ohio University.

San Jose State 56, New Mexico State 20--Sheldon Canley returned the opening kickoff 93 yards and quarterback Ralph Martini threw four touchdown passes as the Spartans (7-2-1, 6-0) defeated the hapless Aggies (0-10, 0-6) at Las Cruces, N.M.

New Mexico State has lost 27 consecutive games, the longest losing streak in major college football.

The Aggies, trailing 7-0 after the first quarter, helped San Jose State to a 35-0 halftime lead by turning the ball over three times within their own 30-yard line.

Martini’s four touchdown passes all came in the second quarter. He connected on passes of 72 yards to David Blakes, nine yards to Leon Hawthorne, 15 yards to Walter Brooks and 12 yards to Canley.

Martini, who saw action only in the first half, completed 14 of 20 passes for 245 yards.

New Mexico State kicker Dat Ly connected on a pair of field goals in the third quarter to the put the Aggies on the board.

The Aggies scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. David Chisum connected with Alvin Warren on a 23-yard touchdown pass play and Ray Washington returned a kickoff 88 yards with 2:19 remaining.

San Jose State reserve quarterback Mike Jordan connected on touchdown pass plays of 24 yards to Bryce Burnett and 40 yards to Blakes in the fourth quarter.