Mountain West Conference Football Press Release Week No. 7

Oct. 6, 2008

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LAST WEEK'S RESULTS (OCT. 2, 3 & 4)

Thursday, October 2
#15/15 Utah 31, Oregon State 28 (Salt Lake City, Utah; Attendance - 45,599)

Friday, October 3
#8/7 BYU 34, Utah State 14 (Logan, Utah; Attendance - 23,101)

Saturday, October 4
Colorado State 41, UNLV 28 (Fort Collins, Colo.; Attendance - 19,703)
Navy 33, Air Force 27 (Colorado Springs, Colo.; Attendance - 46,339)
TCU 41, San Diego State 7 (Fort Worth, Texas; Attendance - 30,620)
New Mexico 24, Wyoming 0 (Albuquerque, N.M.; Attendance - 28,752)

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (OCT. 6, 2008)

Co-Offensive Players of the Week
GARTRELL JOHNSON, COLORADO STATE
Senior, Running Back, Miami Springs, Fla./Miami Springs HS
Gartrell Johnson registered career-highs of 33 carries and 191 rushing yards in Colorado State's 41- 28 win over UNLV. The senior running back also matched a career-best with three touchdowns in the contest, including a 10-yard score late in the fourth quarter that capped off a game-winning drive in which Johnson had nine carries for 49 yards. Johnson added a rush for the two-point conversion to give the Rams a 35-28 lead with nine seconds left to play. The senior from Miami Springs, Fla., also had four catches for 21 yards to finish with a career-high 212 yards of total offense.

MARCUS JACKSON, TCU
Junior, Quarterback, Houston, Texas/Westside HS
Marcus Jackson recorded 246 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in helping TCU to a 41-7 win over San Diego State. Making only his second career start in place of an injured Andy Dalton, Jackson rushed for a career-high 131 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. He completed 10-of- 19 passes for an additional 115 yards and another TD. The junior from Houston, Texas, posted his second 100-yard rushing effort in three games while directing a Horned Frogs offense that held the ball for 43:29 against the Aztecs.

Defensive Player of the Week
MIKE WRIGHT, UTAH
Junior, Linebacker, Bountiful, Utah/Southern Utah
Mike Wright collected a career-high 15 tackles with five solo stops to help Utah's defensive effort in a 31-28 win over Oregon State. A junior from Bountiful, Utah, Wright also had a nine-yard sack and two pass breakups in the contest, including a fourth-quarter breakup that came with OSU facing third and seven on the Utah 34-yard line, resulting in a Beaver punt. Wright also registered a second-down sack and assisted with a third-down tackle that forced OSU to settle for a field goal on its game-opening drive.

Special Teams Player of the Week
LOUIE SAKODA, UTAH
Senior, Punter/Place Kicker, San Jose, Calif./Branham HS
Louie Sakoda kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Utah to a 31-28 victory over Oregon State. The senior from San Jose, Calif., added two PATs and finished the game a perfect 3-of-3 in field goals with kicks from 33, 28 and 37 yards to improve his season mark to 11-of-11 in field goals from 47 yards or less. Sakoda also averaged 44.5 yards on six punts with a long of 58. He set the school record for career punt yards (8,729) in the game, breaking a mark set back in 1969.

WEEK 6 RECAP
Week 6 football action saw Mountain West teams post a 2-1 mark in non-conference games with Utah rallying past Oregon State (31-28), BYU defeating Utah State (34-14) and Air Force falling to Navy (33-27). Meanwhile in league play, Colorado State beat UNLV (41-28), TCU rolled past San Diego State (41-7) and New Mexico shut out Wyoming (24-0).

WEEK 7 PREVIEW
Four Mountain West contests are on tap for Saturday, October 11, as the second half of the 2008 season gets underway. All four games will be nationally televised, with one match-up on CBS College Sports Network and a tripleheader on The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network. The day's slate kicks off with Utah at Wyoming (12 p.m. MT, The Mtn.), followed by TCU at Colorado State (1:30 p.m. MT, CBS C), New Mexico at BYU (4 p.m. MT, The Mtn.), and Air Force at San Diego State (6:30 p.m. PT, The Mtn.).

BYU AND UTAH IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
BYU and Utah are both ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls. The Cougars are ninth in the Associated Press and No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls. Utah moved up to No. 14 in the AP and 13th in the Coaches poll. The Mountain West has two teams in the top 14 of the AP and Coaches polls for the first time in the history of the league.

BYU AND UTAH AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN WIN STREAKS
BYU has won 15 consecutive games and currently holds the longest active win streak in the country. Utah has won seven games in a row and is tied for second nationally with Alabama, Penn State and Texas Tech. BYU has also won an MWC-record 15 consecutive home games, a mark that currently ranks third among Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Oklahoma has the longest active home win streak at 20, followed by Boise State with 16. The Cougars have also won an MWC-record 17 straight league contests. BYU has not lost to a league opponent since dropping its MWC finale to Utah on Nov. 19, 2005. The 17 consecutive victories is currently the longest active conference win streak in the country.

BYU AND UTAH REMAIN PERFECT
There are currently 15 undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision heading into Week 7. BYU and Utah boast 5-0 and 6-0 records, respectively, marking the first time in league history the Mountain West has had two teams with unblemished records at this point in the season. The MWC is one of four FBS conferences with two or more undefeated teams:

Big Ten - Northwestern (5-0), Penn State (6-0)
Big 12 - Missouri (5-0), Oklahoma (5-0), Oklahoma State (5-0), Texas (5-0), Texas Tech (5-0)
MWC - BYU (5-0), Utah (6-0)
SEC - Alabama (6-0), LSU (4-0), Vanderbilt (5-0)

CONFERENCE RECORDS AGAINST AUTOMATIC-QUALIFYING BCS TEAMS
The MWC has posted a 8-5 mark in games against automatic-qualifying BCS conference opponents this season (includes Notre Dame), with five different teams chalking up victories. TCU and Utah are both 11-3 in their last 14 games against automatic-qualifying BCS teams.

NON-CONFERENCE REPORT
The Mountain West Conference is currently 23-11 in non-conference action in 2008, including a 17-10 (.630) record against non-conference FBS opponents. The 23 non-conference wins are one shy of the MWC's season record of 24 set in both 2003 and 2007.

100-YARD RUSHERS RARE AGAINST MWC DEFENSES
The MWC has three teams that have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 2008. In fact, all three institutions are currently riding streaks of five games or longer, led by TCU's 11 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. New Mexico has the second-longest streak at nine games, followed by BYU at five games.

AIR FORCE AND BYU NEAR TOP OF FBS FOR FUMBLE RECOVERIES
Air Force and BYU rank tied for second in fumble recoveries in the latest NCAA stats. Entering Week 7, the Falcons and Cougars each have 11 fumble recoveries. Akron leads the country with 12.

TCU AND UTAH AMONG BEST RUSH DEFENSES IN NCAA
TCU leads the nation in run defense at 22.3 yards per game, while Utah is ranked sixth (65.5 ypg). The Horned Frogs have held their first six opponents to under 100 yards rushing (New Mexico-56, Stephen F. Austin-3, Stanford-71, SMU-minus 8, Oklahoma-25, SDSU-minus 13), while the Utes have limited five of their six opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground (Michigan-36, UNLV-129, Utah State-27, Air Force-53, Weber State-56, Oregon State-92). TCU also ranks among the elite in tackles for loss in the FBS. The Frogs are second, averaging 8.67 TFL per game.

UNLV MAKING THE MOST OF RED ZONE CHANCES
UNLV ranked last in the MWC in red-zone scoring in 2007 (73.0 percent - 26 scores in 37 trips -- 15 TDs/11 FGs). Through six games this season, the Rebels are tied for first in the nation with a perfect 18-for-18 mark inside the 20-yard line, including 15 touchdowns and three field goals.

MWC PLAYERS AMONG THE BEST WHEN IT COME TO TACKLES FOR LOSS
Mountain West players own three of the top 10 spots in the latest NCAA statistics for tackles for loss and is one of two league's with three players in the top 10 (Big Ten). Utah's Paul Kruger is third in the country with 12.5 tackles for loss and an average of 2.08 per game. Air Force's Jake Paulson is tied for fourth with 1.80 per game (9 total), followed by TCU's Jason Phillips tied for seventh with 1.70 per game (8.5 total).

THREE MWC PLAYERS AMONG FBS ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS FOR TACKLES
The Mountain West has three players ranked in the top 20 of the Football Bowl Subdivision for Active Career Tackles as of Oct. 5.

CSU'S GREER AND BYU'S COLLIE MAKING NOISE NATIONALLY
Colorado State's Rashaun Greer is ranked sixth nationally with 144.0 receiving yards per game (579 total), while BYU's Austin Collie is tied for 11th with 103.60 yards per game (518 total). Greer caught his first career touchdown and add a career-high eight catches for 211 yards against UNLV last week. He became only the fifth played in CSU history to eclipse the 200 yards receiving mark in a single game.

Collie broke the 100-yard receiving mark for the third straight game with 132 yards on eight catches at Utah State. He has also caught two touchdown passes in each of the last three games (UCLA, Wyoming, Utah State). Collie has 2,235 career receiving yards, surpassing Glen Kozlowski as No. 8 on BYU's all-time record list. The junior needs only 133 more yards to pass Chris Smith with 2,367 yards and claim the No. 7 spot.

BYU POSTS BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS
BYU recorded consecutive shutouts after blanking UCLA 59-0 on Sept. 13 and Wyoming 44-0 on Sept. 20. The last time BYU posted back-to-back shutouts was in 1985 when the Cougars earned similar results, defeating Wyoming 59-0 and Utah State 44-0. BYU is the second team in MWC history to post back-to-back shutouts. Utah accomplished the feat in 2003 when it blanked BYU 3-0 in the regular season finale and shut out Southern Miss in the Liberty Bowl, 17-0. The MWC record for shutouts in a season is two (by several teams).

MWC IN THE NFL
The Mountain West Conference has 86 players representing the nine institutions in the National Football League (NFL) this season. San Diego State leads the Conference with 20 players on 12 different teams, followed by Utah with 17 players on 13 NFL squads. BYU is one behind its in-state rival with 14 former players participating on NFL 12 teams.

Overall, the MWC is represented on 29 of the 32 NFL teams. The only teams without an MWC representative are Atlanta, Detroit and Dallas. The Houston Texans have the most MWC representation with eight individuals with ties to the league on their roster/practice squad. To view the entire list visit the following link: http://themwc.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091208aaf.html or visit the MWC in the NFL link listed under Media Hits on the football page of the MWC Web site.

MWC COACHES
The departure of Colorado State head coach Sonny Lubick after 15 seasons in Fort Collins, makes New Mexico's Rocky Long the dean of MWC coaches in terms of longevity in the Mountain West Conference. Long is in his 11th season at the helm of the Lobos and has led UNM to five bowl games in the past six years. TCU head coach Gary Patterson is second on the list in his eighth season with the Horned Frogs, followed by Wyoming's Joe Glenn in his sixth campaign in Laramie. Bronco Mendenhall of BYU, Mike Sanford of UNLV and Utah's Kyle Whittingham are each in their fourth seasons at their respective institutions, while Chuck Long is in his third year at San Diego State. Air Force's Troy Calhoun is in his second season at Air Force and Colorado State's Steve Fairchild is the lone new addition to the MWC coaching ranks in 2008

MWC WINS SECOND BOWL CHALLENGE CUP IN 2007
For the second time in four years, the Mountain West Conference posted the best win percentage among the 11 conferences that make up the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. The Mountain West claimed the 2007-08 Bowl Challenge Cup after sending a league-record five teams into postseason action and finishing with a 4-1 (.800) mark. The Mountain West earned its first Bowl Challenge Cup after registering a 2-1 record in bowl competition during the 2004 season and is the second conference (ACC) to win the trophy twice since the award's inception in 2002-03.

THE MTN. IS ON DIRECTV
DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television service provider, launched The Mtn.- MountainWest Sports Network on Aug. 27. The Mtn. is available on Channel 616 on DIRECTV CHOICE^TM and above packages for the states servicing Mountain West Conference institutions (Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and the designated market areas of Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego). Customers throughout the remainder of the country are able to access The Mtn. with a subscription to DIRECTV's Sportspack.

INSIDE THE MWC RECORD BOOK

INDIVIDUAL
• San Diego State's Brian Stahovich had 10 punts against TCU, tying the MWC record for most punts by a freshman in a single game. Prior to Saturday, the last freshman to record 10 punts in a game was formr New Mexico punter Cort Moffitt (Oct. 16, 1999 vs. BYU).
• BYU's Austin Collie registered his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game with 132 yards on eight catches in the Cougars' win over Utah State. Collie now has nine 100-yard receiving games for his career, moving him into third place on the league's all-time list behind former San Diego State receivers J.R. Tolver (13 games, 1999-2002) and Jeff Webb (12 games, 2001-05). UNLV's Ryan Wolfe is fifth on that same list with seven career 100-yard receiving games.
• BYU's Collie caught two touchdown passes against Utah State, bringing his career total to 22 and giving him sole possession of second place on the MWC's list for career receptions. The league record of 29 touchdown receptions is currently held by former Wyoming standout Jovon Bouknight (2002-05).
• BYU's Max Hall passed for 303 yards vs. Utah State, his third 300-yard passing effort of the season and eighth for his career. He now ranks third on the MWC's all-time list for most career 300-yard passing games behind former BYU QB John Beck (17 games, 2003-06) and former Wyoming QB Casey Bramlet (15 games, 2000-03).
• Utah's Brian Johnson moved into fifth place on the MWC list for career passing yards (6,211). He also ranks among the league's Top 10 in five other career statistical categories. The senior is second in pass completion percentage (514-786, 65.4%), fourth in completions (514), sixth in total offense yards (6,941), sixth in pass attempts (786) and seventh in total plays (1,099).
• Utah's Louie Sakoda kicked three fields goals in the Utes' 31-28 win over Oregon State to move into a tie for third place on the league's list for career field goals made with 48. The league's all-time record of 54 is held by former BYU standout Matt Payne (2001-04). Sakoda also currently ranks fourth on the MWC career lists for punts (206) and punting yards (8,729), fifth for kicking points (249) and seventh for all-time scoring (249).
• New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson is in second place on the league's all-time list for career rushing attempts with 659. The MWC record of 1,028 attempts is held by former Lobo standout DonTrell Moore (2002-05). Ferguson is also ranked among MWC career leaders in rushing yards (3rd-2,982), rushing touchdowns (7th-27) and overall touchdowns (t7th-30).
• San Diego State's Vincent Brown caught eight passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns against Idaho. His three receiving TDs tied for the second-highest single-game effort in MWC history and also tied the mark for most receiving TDs by a sophomore.
• San Diego State's Ryan Lindley passed for a career-high 433 yards and four touchdowns in the Aztecs` win over Idaho, setting new MWC freshman records for both categories. The previous record for passing yardage by a freshman was 360 yards, set by BYU's Matt Berry against Wyoming on Nov. 9, 2002. Lindley had previously tied the single-game record for passing TDs by a freshman with three vs. Cal Poly on Aug. 30, 2008.
• BYU's Hall passed for an MWC-record seven touchdowns in the Cougars' 59-0 shutout of UCLA. The previous record of five passing TDs was set by several individuals, most recently by former San Diego State QB Kevin O'Connell on Sept. 22, 2007 against Portland State.
• New Mexico freshman James Aho kicked five field goals and three PATs in the Lobos' 36-28 win over Arizona, setting an MWC single-game record for most kicking points (18). The previous record of 17 points was shared by three other individuals and reached most recently by former Air Force kicker Joey Ashcroft on Nov. 9, 2002 at Army. Aho's five field goals tied the MWC record for most field goals in a game and set a new freshman mark. The previous freshman mark of four field goals was shared by current Colorado State kicker Jason Smith and former Utah kicker Bryan Borreson.
• Utah's Paul Kruger equaled an MWC record with 4.0 sacks in the Utes' win at Utah State. Kruger is the first MWC player to register four sacks in a game since former New Mexico standout Michael Tuohy achieved the feat against New Mexico State on Sept. 9, 2006. His four solo sacks are the most by any FBS player thus far in 2008.

  TEAM

• BYU put together a run of 137 unanswered points over the past three games before Utah State scored a touchdown with 13:47 remaining in the fourth quarter last Saturday. Over that time, the Cougars shut out their opponents in 11 straight quarters, tying the MWC record for most consecutive quarters of holding opponents scoreless.
• TCU limited San Diego State to 41 plays and 85 yards total offense in its 41-7 win over the Aztecs last Saturday. The 41 plays allowed set the league's all-time record, while the 85 yards set the mark for fewest yards allowed in an MWC contest. The previous record for fewest plays allowed in a single game was 43, set by Air Force vs. Colorado State on Nov. 8, 2001. The previous mark for fewest total yards allowed in an MWC game was 116, set by BYU against UNLV on Oct. 23, 1999. TCU currently holds the overall record for fewest yards allowed in a game with 60 against Northern Illinois on Dec. 19, 2006.
• TCU also limited San Diego State to four first downs, setting a new MWC record for fewest first downs allowed in a single game. The Frogs did not give up a rushing first down to the Aztecs, becoming the fifth team in MWC history to accomplish the feat in any game and the first to do so in an MWC contest. The previous overall record of five first downs allowed was achieved by several teams, most recently by Wyoming (vs. Virginia on Sept. 1, 2007). TCU held the previous record for fewest first downs allowed in an MWC game (6), doing so twice in meetings with New Mexico and UNLV.
• BYU's seven passing touchdowns vs. UCLA shattered the previous MWC record of five, last set by San Diego State against Portland State on Sept. 22, 2007.
• BYU's 59-0 victory over the Bruins marked the third-largest margin of victory in MWC history. The Cougars' 35-point onslaught in the second quarter was the second-highest scoring effort in a single quarter in league history, while their 42 points in the first half were the third-most points in a half.
• New Mexico's MWC record-tying five field goals against Arizona marked the most by an MWC squad since Colorado State kicked five in an Aug. 22, 2002 win at Virginia.