Upset? No Way, Says BYU

Rice arrived at Provo, Utah, with a four-game winning streak, a 458-yard-a-game offense and high hopes of an upset, but No. 12 Brigham Young didn’t cooperate.

With their lead in the Western Athletic Conference’s Mountain Division at stake, the Cougars shut down the Owls and got their own running game rolling for a 49-0 shutout Saturday.

“They said they were going to shove the ball down our throats and we shoved it down their throats,” sophomore linebacker Darren Yancey said. “Nobody wanted to be ‘Upset of the Week.’ ”

ESPN had picked this game as its “Upset of the Week.”

“We decided right then and there we were going to eat Rice,” said Yancey, a 275-pound sophomore. “Why not? 70% of the world does.”

The Cougars, 10-1 overall overall and 6-0 in the WAC, won their eighth consecutive game and home finale by holding Rice (5-4, 4-2) to 119 yards rushing and none passing.

While BYU’s swarming defense frustrated Rice, Steve Sarkisian threw two touchdown passes and the Cougars’ running backs racked up 323 yards--more than double their 149.6-yard average.

Sarkisian completed 10 of 13 passes--well below his usual 32 attempts per game this season--for 206 yards as the Cougars’ rushers carried the load. Brian McKenzie ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Colorado State 42, Fresno State 20--Calvin Branch rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns in 30 carries to lead the Rams (7-4, 6-1) over the Bulldogs (4-5, 3-3) at Fresno.

Fresno State lost a fumble on its first play at the 18. Two plays later, Moses Moreno passed six yards to Eli Workman for a touchdown and the rout was on.

Utah 31, New Mexico 24--Mike Fouts passed for two touchdowns and scored another on a quarterback sneak as the Utes (8-2, 6-1) beat the Lobos (5-5, 2-5) at Albuquerque.

Fouts passed to Jeff Jax on a 54-yard play for a third-quarter touchdown and connected with Donny Utu from 25 yards out for a score in the fourth quarter.

Texas Christian 31, Tulsa 24--Basil Mitchell rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns, including a late 74-yard dash, as TCU rallied for a WAC victory at Tulsa, Okla.

The Horned Frogs (4-5, 3-3), scored four touchdowns in the second half and handed Tulsa (3-6, 1-5) its fourth straight loss.

Southern Methodist 30, Texas El Paso 0--Donte Womack rushed for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns and Jacoby Rhinehart returned a fumble 97 yards for a score as SMU (4-6, 3-4) blanked the Miners (2-7, 0-6) at El Paso.