WESTERN ATHLETIC ROUNDUP : Brigham Young Gets Shutout of Lobos

Jamal Willis rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns to lead Brigham Young to an 35-0 Western Athletic Conference victory over New Mexico at Provo, Utah, Saturday.

Willis scored on runs of 19, 24 and 71 yards as BYU (6-4 overall, 4-2 in the WAC) rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead. New Mexico dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in league play.

The Cougars’ other touchdowns came on a 47-yard pass from Ryan Hancock to Terence Saluone and a 13-yard Hancock to Otis Sterling pass. Hancock was 16 of 23 with two interceptions for 256 yards before being replaced early in the final quarter by Tom Young, a younger brother of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young.

BYU completely dominated the first half. The Cougars out-gained the Lobos 414 yards 143 in total offense, finishing with 521 yards total offense while New Mexico ended with 313.

New Mexico got into BYU territory just twice in the first half, threatening once after Tuli Mateialona intercepted a Hancock pass and returned the ball to the BYU 31.

The Lobos were turned back three times inside the BYU 25 yard line in the second half. Trent Coit recovered a Willis fumble at the BYU 22 at the start of the third quarter. That series ended with a missed 37-yard David Margolis field goal.

In the fourth quarter, New Mexico twice got to the BYU 8, only to lose the ball on downs both times.

BYU had long drives en route to four of its five scores. The Cougars moved 73, 90 and 88 yards, then had a one-play, 47-yard drive which resulted in a score nine seconds after Derik Stevenson partially blocked a Mike Nesbitt punt in the second quarter. Sterling’s third quarter touchdown capped a 66-yard march.

BYU coach LaVell Edwards credited the Cougars’ defense--and said the victory keeps BYU close to the leaders in the WAC with an outside shot at the league crown.

“Our defense has played outstanding all year long,” he said. “This victory puts us in good position but we still have to wait for other people in the WAC to help us out. The win gives us a lot of confidence and keeps the momentum going.”

New Mexico coach Dennis Franchione said BYU’s defense was “a lot better than we hear about . . . When we did have a chance to beat them deep, we had trouble protecting the quarterback long enough to do it.”