WAC ROUNDUP : BYU Beats Utah, Loses Hancock

For Brigham Young, a 31-22 victory over Utah Saturday at Salt Lake City was bittersweet.

The Cougars, 8-4 overall, won at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference by improving their league mark to 6-2, and will be playing in a yet-to-be-determined bowl game.

But they will be doing it without quarterback Ryan Hancock--the third BYU passer to be sidelined by injury this season.

“I was trying to get a first down and they had the angle on me,” the sophomore said of the fourth-quarter blow to his right knee. “I was surprised my feet stayed planted long enough for them to hit me. I had all my weight on it.”

BYU Coach LaVell Edwards, who lost starter John Walsh and backup Steve Clements to shoulder injuries, now turns to his No. 4 passer--sophomore Tom Young, brother of the San Francisco 49ers’ Steve Young.

“This has been a tough but most rewarding season,” Edwards said, insisting he has full confidence in Young’s abilities.

The game also proved double-edged for Utah Coach Ron McBride, who was disappointed with the loss--but pleased with his players’ 22-point fourth-quarter rally.

“I’m very proud of this football team. We were down, 31-0, and it looked pretty bleak,” McBride said. “This shows how far we have come. Our kids didn’t lay down and die.”

The loss--the fourth straight to BYU--ruined an outstanding passing day for Utah’s Frank Dolce, who finished with 31 completions in 56 attempts for 347 yards and two touchdowns.

Hancock passed for 198 yards and one touchdown, and BYU running back Jamal Willis ran for 148 yards. Willis finished the regular season with 1,004 yards rushing, becoming only the third runner in BYU history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Utah finished 6-5 and 4-4.

Colorado State 14, New Mexico 10--Senior linebacker Kevin Lynch sacked Lobo quarterback Stoney Case on fourth down at the Colorado State 34 to preserve the Rams’ WAC victory at Albuquerque.

Colorado State (5-7, 3-5) lost three games by less than a touchdown, and Coach Earle Bruce said the victory should carry over to next season.

“The win gives us momentum going into next year,” said Bruce, who noted the Rams used a similar season-ending win over Texas El Paso in 1989 to launch a 1990 season in which they went 9-4 and beat Oregon in the Freedom Bowl.

Quarterback Anthoney Hill shook off an ankle injury and led the Rams on two third-quarter touchdown drives that erased a 10-0 New Mexico halftime lead.

Hill, who sprained his right ankle against Hawaii two weeks ago, replaced freshman Erich Prahl late in the first half. Behind Hill, the Rams finished with 315 yards of offense after picking up only 108 in the first half.

The Rams’ third-quarter scores came on tailback Leonice Brown’s 22-yard run and 232-pound freshman fullback Geoff Grenier’s 11-yard run. Grenier carried two New Mexico defenders over the final five yards.

New Mexico finished 3-8 and 2-6.