Fresno State Outlasts San Diego State : WAC: Faulk and his replacement are injured as the Aztecs lose the league title for the second consecutive season, 45-41.

San Diego State lost Marshall Faulk and then the Western Athletic Conference title as Trent Dilfer’s six-yard touchdown pass to Tydus Winans with 14 seconds to play gave Fresno State a 45-41 victory Saturday.

San Diego State moved to the Fresno State 18 with one second to play on David Lowery’s 48-yard pass to Darnay Scott, but Lowery’s next pass to DeAndre Maxwell in the corner of the end zone was knocked away.

The Aztecs (5-4-1, 5-3) were denied the WAC title and Holiday Bowl berth for a second consecutive year. Last year, they lost it when Brigham Young rallied from 28 points behind for a 52-52 tie. The inside track now goes to Hawaii, which played host to Wyoming Saturday night. WAC newcomer Fresno State (7-4, 5-2) was eliminated earlier when Brigham Young beat Utah.

The Aztecs had taken a 41-38 lead on Lowery’s 41-yard pass to Scott with with 4:32 left, capping a 90-yard drive on which Faulk’s replacement, Wayne Pittman, suffered a broken left leg.

But Dilfer led Fresno State 80 yards in 13 plays. He threw an 11-yard pass to Anthony Daigle on fourth and nine from the Bulldog 44, then a 37-yarder to Malcom Seabron to the Aztec eight. The winning pass came two plays later for the highest-scoring team in the nation.

Faulk, the top rusher in major college football, left the game when he suffered a sprained right knee on a two-yard touchdown run 52 seconds into the game. His status for next Saturday’s game against No. 1 Miami was uncertain.

Faulk had X-rays taken at the stadium and returned to the bench with an ice pack on the knee. He had two carries for 21 yards and a touchdown. He had averaged 178.8 yards per game.

Pittman was injured when he was stopped on third and one at the Aztec 19 with 8:28 to play. Faulk stood a few feet away, helmet in hand, as the medical staff put an inflatable splint on Pittman’s leg. On the next play, Lowery ran a sneak for two yards and the first down.

Fresno State had 520 yards of offense and San Diego State had 530. Dilfer completed 15 of 29 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns and junior Ron Rivers rushed for a personal-best 173 yards and two touchdowns. Lowery completed 14 of 30 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns. Scott caught seven passes for 204 yards and one touchdown.

After trailing most of the game, Fresno State scored two consecutive touchdowns during the third quarter to go ahead, 38-34. Daigle scored on a one-yard run with 8:34 to play in the quarter, then Dilfer threw a 17-yard pass to Seabron on third and 11.

Seabron’s touchdown was set up when Tommy Jones intercepted a Lowery pass. The Bulldogs were driving again, but Darrell Lewis intercepted Dilfer at the Aztec five and returned it 20 yards.

San Diego State led, 31-24, after a first half that featured two punt returns for touchdowns, including Ray Peterson’s school-record 91-yard run for San Diego State.