COLLEGE FOOTBALL : WESTERN ATHLETIC ROUNDUP : Utah Defeats BYU, Earns Share of Conference Title

Behind Mike Fouts and Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, Utah defeated Brigham Young, 34-17, Saturday at Provo, Utah, and earned a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.

Fouts passed for two touchdowns and Fuamatu-Ma’afala ran for two as Utah, 7-4 overall and 6-2 in the WAC, earned its first WAC title since 1964 and its third consecutive victory over BYU.

“When I came here six years ago, this is what I wanted--to win the WAC and beat BYU,” said Utah Coach Ron McBride.

Fouts, nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, said he was shocked by his team’s performance.

“I knew we were going to come out hard. We were really hungry. We wanted it and I think it showed,” he said.

After a scoreless first quarter, Fuamatu-Ma’afala opened the second with a 32-yard touchdown run.

BYU responded with a 50-yard Bill Hansen field goal. But that was the only time the Cougars scored until the fourth quarter.

“The defense was awesome,” Fouts said.

BYU (6-4, 5-2) could have clinched the WAC title with a victory. The Cougars still have a shot at a share of the title if they can beat Fresno State next Saturday.

Wyoming 38, Fresno State 10--Len Sexton’s 102 yards and two touchdowns led a strong rushing attack that helped the Cowboys (5-5, 3-4) defeat the Bulldogs (5-6, 2-5) in a WAC game at Laramie, Wyo.

The Cowboys converted four interceptions into four touchdowns and gained 307 yards rushing, the second week in a row that Wyoming ran for more than 300.

Fresno State starter Jim Arellanes had passes intercepted by Jim Talich, Lee Vaughn and Jason Holanda, and backup Richie Donati had one intercepted by Brian Lee, who returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

Texas El Paso 17, New Mexico 12--Toraino Singleton rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown in 37 carries and the Miners (2-9, 1-7) beat the Lobos (4-7, 2-6) at El Paso, Texas.