BCS Dream Stays Alive for BYU

With Brigham Young University struggling against Utah’s swarming defense, Luke Staley found a way to bail out the undefeated Cougars, keeping their hopes for a Bowl Championship Series bowl game alive.

Staley scored two touchdowns and added a two-point conversion in the final three minutes at Provo, Utah, as No. 8 BYU defeated rival Utah, 24-21, Saturday night in a dramatic comeback that gave the Cougars the Mountain West championship.

Staley’s second touchdown came on a 30-yard run that was dangerously close to being a forward lateral from quarterback Brandon Doman. Staley dodged two tacklers as he ran along the sideline to put the Cougars (11-0, 7-0) ahead 24-21.

Utah (7-3, 4-2) reached the BYU 30-yard line before Jernaro Gilford intercepted a pass by Lance Rice to end the threat. Representatives of the Fiesta and Sugar bowls were scouting the Cougars, who have games at Mississippi State and Hawaii remaining.

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In other Mountain West games, San Diego State (3-8, 2-5) won Ted Tollner’s final game as coach, defeating Wyoming (2-8, 0-7), 38-16, at San Diego behind Larry Ned’s four touchdowns.... Kent Naughton kicked three field goals in a 24-17 victory for Colorado State (6-5, 5-2) at Albuquerque, N.M. The Lobos (5-5, 4-3) suffered a blow to their bowl hopes....Cornerback Kevin Thomas and defensive end Scott Parkhurst scored touchdowns 58 seconds apart in the third quarter, leading UNLV (4-7, 3-4) to a 34-10 victory over Air Force (5-5, 2-4) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

Big East

William Green returned from a one-game suspension and ran for 213 yards and a touchdown to lead Boston College (7-3, 4-2) to a 38-7 victory over Rutgers (2-8, 0-7) at Piscataway, N.J....Tanardo Sharps ran for 172 yards and Temple (3-7, 2-5) stopped its 10-game losing streak to West Virginia (3-7, 1-5) with a 17-14 victory at Morgantown, W.Va.

Big 12

Ennis Haywood ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns as Iowa State (6-4, 4-4) impressed Independence Bowl officials with a 49-7 victory over Kansas (2-8, 1-7) at Lawrence, Kan....Darrent Williams returned interceptions of 20 and 85 yards for touchdowns as Oklahoma State (3-7, 1-6) dealt Baylor (2-8, 0-8) a 38-22 loss at Waco, Texas....Josh Scobey ran for 113 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns as Kansas State (5-5) defeated Louisiana Tech, 40-7, at Manhattan, Kan.

Conference USA

Danny Wimprine passed for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth score as Memphis (5-5, 3-3) defeated Army (2-8, 2-5), 42-10, at Memphis, Tenn....Jeff Kelly threw for a school-record 400 yards to lead Southern Mississippi (5-3, 3-2) to 59-6 victory over Tulane (3-9, 1-6) at Hattiesburg, Miss....Thomas Cox accounted for three touchdowns to lead Alabama-Birmingham (6-4, 5-2) to a 43-21 victory at Houston (0-10, 0-7).

Mid-American

Byron Leftwich tied a school record with six touchdown passes, four to Darius Watts, as No. 24 Marshall defeated Ohio, 42-18, at Huntington, W.Va. Marshall (9-1, 6-0 MAC East) accepted a bid to the GMAC Bowl. Ohio (1-9, 0-6 MAC East) lost its fifth in a row....Chester Taylor ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third as Motor City Bowl-bound Toledo scored a 28-7 victory over Eastern Michigan (2-8, 1-5), giving the Rockets (8-1, 5-1) a share of the West Division title.

Western Athletic

David Carr passed for 368 yards and four touchdowns and Bernard Berrian scored three times and had 357 all-purpose yards for Fresno State (8-2, 5-2), a 61-14 winner over Nevada (2-8, 2-5) at Reno, Nev....Ryan Dinwiddie threw four touchdown passes and Brock Forsey ran for 122 yards and three scores to lead Boise State (7-4, 6-2) to a rain-soaked 56-6 victory over visiting San Jose State (3-7, 3-4).... Kyle Herm ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns as Rice (8-3, 5-2) beat Texas El Paso (2-8, 1-6), 27-17, for the Owls’ first eight-victory season since 1953.... Keylon Kincade ran for 169 yards and a touchdown as Southern Methodist (3-6, 3-4) defeated Tulsa (1-9, 0-7), 24-14 at Tulsa.