Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
IDAHO: The 2012 season continued to spiral out of control for the Vandals as
the team suffered a huge beating by BYU in Provo on Saturday night, 52-13. The
team's fourth straight setback and the ninth in 10 tries this year overall,
Idaho is now last in the nation in scoring with just 15.4 ppg and is third
from the bottom in scoring defense, giving up a hefty 43.0 ppg. Starting
quarterback Logan Bushnell hit on 19-of-35 pass attempts for 206 yards and one
touchdown, but was also picked off twice in the losing cause. The only other
scoring from the group came from kicker Trey Farquhar who booted field goals
of 39 and 35 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The Vandals
next step out against Texas-San Antonio in conference play this weekend, the
final regular season game of the year for Idaho.
LOUISIANA TECH: The second-highest scoring team in the country was at it again
on Saturday night, but instead of wiping up the opponent the Bulldogs had to
hold on until the very end to secure a 62-55 win over Texas State in
conference action in San Marcos. The team had many outstanding performances,
although defense was not one of them as the group gave up 296 yards and five
touchdowns on the ground and another 281 yards and three scores through the
air. The 19th-ranked team in the country was paced by Kenneth Dixon who ran
for 144 yards and four touchdowns and added another score on a pass reception
which gives him 24 rushing touchdowns on the year overall, breaking the NCAA
record of TDs on the ground by a freshman previously held by Marshall Faulk
(San Diego State, 1991) and Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech, 2009) who both
recorded 21. Colby Cameron also carved out a spot in the record books for
himself as he set a new NCAA record for consecutive pass attempts without an
interception, his run of 419 passes still going strong heading into next week
against Utah State in the final home date of the campaign. Cameron finished
the outing 31-of-45 for 337 yards and three TDs.
NEW MEXICO STATE: Head coach DeWayne Walker and the Aggies have had very
little to cheer about this season in Las Cruces and the year just seemed to be
getting longer as the team dropped a 47-7 decision versus San Jose State in
their final home conference date of the campaign. The defeat was the ninth
straight for New Mexico State, a team which has beaten only Sacramento State
in the opener (49-19) and has not topped another program from the Football
Subdivision since taking out Fresno State, 48-45, a year ago at this time. The
NMSU offense couldn't get anything going in the right direction the entire day
and it wasn't until the final minute of regulation that Travaughn Colwell
tossed a nine-yard scoring pass to Trevor Walls in order to avoid a shutout.
Colwell converted 5-of-11 passes for 54 yards, while Andrew Manley hit 7-of-18
for just 46 yards and was intercepted twice. Austin Franklin, one of the
nation's top receivers was limited to just two catches for 16 yards. NMSU now
gets some extra time to prepare for the next opponent, a date with BYU on Nov.
24 at home.
SAN JOSE STATE: Big plays were the order of the day for the Spartans as they
scored three times on plays of over 50 yards as they dismantled the New Mexico
State Aggies in conference action, 47-7, in Las Cruces. Already bowl eligible,
the Spartans recorded their fourth straight win and the eighth in the last
nine outings, their win total equal to all of the victories they had in the
three previous campaigns combined. David Fales was at it again as he completed
12-of-18 passes for 276 yards and four touchdowns, against a single
interception, with Chandler Jones catching five balls for 101 yards and two
TDs for the visitors. While the SJSU offense was rolling to 504 yards, the
defense was holding tough by limiting the hosts to just 220 yards. Also
getting in on the action was Bene Benwikere who returned a fumble 37 yards for
a touchdown just before intermission. The Spartans take a break from the
league slate one last time this weekend as they tangle with the BYU Cougars at
home.
TEXAS STATE: It was assumed that the Bobcats would be steam rolled by high-
scoring Louisiana Tech on Saturday night and that was partly the case as Texas
State gave up a massive 62 points, but the squad also tallied 55 points to
keep the game in question right up until the end. Losers of three in a row and
five of the last six outings, Texas State gave up 627 yards of total offense,
with the defense left on the field for 101 plays. On the positive side,
quarterback Shaun Rutherford was able to throw for 234 yards and two
touchdowns, while Tim Hawkins also connected on a 47-yard pass play on his
lone attempt of the night. Running back Marcus Curry finished with a team-best
134 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Terrence Franks landed in the end
zone on two of his four carries as well. Rutherford, who completed 21-of-37
passes, ran the ball 20 times for 90 yards and a TD as the Bobcats tried
desperately to keep up with one of the top offenses in the country. Bradley
Miller responded with five catches for 65 yards and two TDs as the Texas State
offense refused to back down and pushed the game right down to the wire. Next
up for the Bobcats is a non-conference outing with Navy on the road this
coming weekend.
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO: Up against the McNeese State Cowboys over the weekend, the
Roadrunners had their hands full even though they had the luxury of playing at
home. UTSA was held scoreless in the first quarter and had just seven points
at the break, but the team turned it on after intermission with a total of 24
points to claim the 31-24 victory. Back under center, Eric Soza converted 24-
of-37 passes for 262 yards and a couple of touchdowns, adding a third on the
ground as well. Soza spread the wealth as he connected with a total of 12
receivers, with none having more than three catches. Evans Okotcha caught
three balls for 37 yards and a score and also ran the ball 10 times for 50
yards and another TD for the squad as they snapped a four-game slide.
The Roadrunners play their final road date of the season this coming weekend,
clashing with Idaho in Western Athletic Conference action at the Kibbie Dome
in Moscow.
UTAH STATE: The Aggies enjoyed some time off last weekend after defeating
Texas State on Nov. 3 by a score of 38-7 at home for their fourth straight
victory and the sixth in the last seven outings. Already bowl eligible and
still the lone undefeated team in WAC play, it all comes down to this Saturday
for Utah State as the group clashes with the high-scoring Louisiana Tech
Bulldogs in Ruston. With the Aggies scoring defense ranked first in the league
and sixth in the nation with just 13.5 ppg and the Bulldogs ranked second in
the country in scoring with more than 50 ppg, something will have to give at
Joe Aillet Stadium as the team teams play for bragging rights in the
standings.
The Sports Network