This Week's Games Saturday, December 2
Air Force (4-7, 3-4) at TCU (9-2, 5-2) on CSTV
Colorado State (4-7, 1-6) at San Diego State (2-9, 2-5)on the mtn.
Last Week's Results Friday, November 24
UNLV 42, Air Force 39 (Las Vegas, Nev.; Attendance - 13,927)
Saturday, November 25
New Mexico 41, San Diego State 14 (Albuquerque, N.M., Attendance - 23,421)
BYU 33, Utah 31 (Salt Lake City, Utah; Attendance - 45,330)
TCU 45, Colorado State 14 (Fort Collins, Colo.; Attendance - 16,146)
Week 13 Recap No. 21 BYU became the fourth team in MWC history to post a perfect record in conference play, capping off its 2006 title run with a win over Utah. New Mexico defeated San Diego State to record its sixth victory of the season and become the fifth bowl-eligible MWC squad this year. In Salt Lake City, the Cougars engineered a 75-yard scoring drive over the final 1:19 for a 33-31 comeback win over the Utes. The two-point decision, which marked BYU's lone single-digit margin of victory this season, ended a four-game losing streak to Utah. In Albuquerque, New Mexico scored 24 first-quarter points off three interceptions and a defensive stop for a a 41-14 win over San Diego State. The Lobos will be making their fourth bowl appearance in five years, having accepted an invitation to participate in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 23.
In other MWC action Saturday, TCU generated over 600 yards of offense for the second straight week while handing Colorado State a 45-14 loss. On Friday, UNLV closed out the season on a high note, snapping a 10-game losing streak with a 42-39 win over Air Force.
Week 13 Highlights
TE Jonny Harline had seven receptions for 118 yards, including a career-high three touchdown receptions, in BYU's 33-31 win over Utah.
In just three quarters of action, TB Rodney Ferguson rushed 22 times for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns in New Mexico's 41-14 victory over San Diego State.
RB Aaron Brown totaled 285 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in TCU's 45-14 win at Colorado State. Brown rushed for a career-high 166 yards and had scores from 1, 28 and 45 yards. He also caught three passes for 48 yards and returned two kickoffs for 71 yards.
New Mexico WR Travis Brown notched his second 100-yard receiving game of the year, finishing with six receptions for a game-high 116 yards, including a 35-yard TD, at BYU.
TB Rodney Ferguson rushed for a game-high 138 yards on 20 carries for New Mexico at BYU. Ferguson also had three catches for 23 yards for 161 total offense yards. It was his fourth game over 100 yards rushing/receiving this year.
Freshman walk-on LB J.J. Williams had a career-high 13 tackles and a tackle for loss for two yards in the loss to BYU.
QB Brett Ratliff completed 24-of-39 passes for a season-high 358 yards and three touchdowns in the two point loss to BYU.
Utah WR Brent Casteel had a career-high 100 receiving yards on five receptions and two touchdowns against BYU. His previous high was 92 yards against Colorado State two weeks ago.
Week 14 Preview TCU (10-2, 5-2) and Air Force (4-7, 3-4) conclude the regular season Saturday in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs have won three straight in the series, including the last two in Fort Worth. The Falcons have won its last two regular season finales, while the Frogs are 4-1 under Coach Patterson in regular season finales.
San Diego State (2-9, 2-5) hosts Colorado State (4-7, 1-6) in the season finale for both teams. The Aztecs are 4-3 in regular season finales since 1999, while the Rams are 5-2. San Diego State won last years battle in Fort Collins, 30-10, but Colorado State has won six in a row in San Diego.
In The Rankings BYU moved up in the rankings across the board after its victory over Utah. The Cougars are ranked 20th in the latest Associated Press Poll and 21st in the BCS, Harris and USA Today/Coaches Poll.
BYU Claims 2006 Mountain West Crown BYU became the fourth team in MWC history to post a unblemished record (8-0) in Conference play en route to the 2006 title. This is the Cougars first outright Mountain West championship since the 2001 season and 22nd league title overall. The 2001 Cougars were the first team to go undefeated in league play, followed by Utah in 2004 and TCU in 2005.
Five MWC Teams Bowl Eligible BYU (10-2), TCU (9-2), Utah (7-5), New Mexico (6-6) and Wyoming (6-6) are all bowl eligible. This is the second year in a row, and third overall since the inception of the league, the MWC has boasted five bowl eligible teams.
BYU Accepts Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl Invitation BYU accepted an official invitation to participate in the 2006 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl after the win over New Mexico. The Cougars will play a team from the Pac-10 Conference in the Dec. 21 bowl game. BYU will appear in a bowl game for the second straight year, marking the first back-to-back bowl appearances since 1998-1999. The Cougars lost to California in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, 35-28.
New Mexico to Play in Inaugural New Mexico Bowl New Mexico defeated San Diego State last Saturday, 41-14, to even its record at 6-6 overall. The win over the Aztecs made the Lobos bowl-eligible for th sixth straight season. New Mexico accepted the New Mexico Bowl's invitation after the SDSU game and will face a team from the Western Athletic Conference in the Dec. 23rd contest. In their last bowl appearance, the Lobos fell to Navy, 34-19, in the 2004 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco.
TCU Poinsettia Bowl Bound TCU has accepted an invitation to play in the second annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The Horned Frogs will face an at-large team on December 19 at 5 p.m. (PST) at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. TCU will be making its 23rd bowl appearance and eighth in the last nine seasons. The Frogs defeated Iowa State, 27-24, in the 2005 EV1.net Houston Bowl.
Armed Forces Bowl Selects Utah Utah has accepted an invitation to play against an opponent to-be-named from Conference USA in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth, Texas, on Dec. 23. The Utes will be making their fourth straight bowl appearance. Utah has won its last five bowl games, dating back to a 17-16 win over Fresno State in the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl. Last year, the Utes defeated Georgia Tech, 38-10, in the Emerald Bowl.
BYU's Win Streak Reaches Eight BYU's eight-game win streak is currently tied for the third-longest in the country. Ohio State leads the NCAA with a 19-game win streak, followed by Boise State with 12 straight wins. Below is a list of the current win streaks in the NCAA.
Streak
Team
Next Opponent
19
Ohio State
Bowl game
12
Boise State
Nevada
9
BYU
Utah
9
Hawai`i
Purdue
Overtime Games Mountain West teams have been involved in four overtimes contests in 2006, tying the league record for overtime games in one season set in 2002. Wyoming has been involved in two of the three overtime games, falling at Virginia, 12-13, on Sept. 9, and at Syracuse Sept. 29, 34-40 in double-overtime. BYU also has played one overtime contest this season, dropping a 23-30 double-overtime decision at Boston College on Sept. 16. The first intra-league overtime contest of the year took place Oct. 14 with New Mexico defeating UNLV, 39-36. MWC teams are 2-8 all-time against non-conference opponents in overtime since the league's inception in 1999. An MWC team hasn't won an overtime contest against a non-conference foe since BYU defeated Virginia, 38-35, on Sept. 2, 2000. Below is a look at MWC records in overtime since it was established in college football in 1996. The MWC record reflects each institution's record since joining the MWC.
