Boise State hammers Utah State, could land in Vegas bowl game
BOISE, Idaho — It took just one play for Boise State linebacker Derrell Acrey to help erase all the pain and misery from the meltdown against UNR that dashed the Broncos’ BCS dreams a week ago.
On the first play from scrimmage Saturday, Acrey stepped in front of a pass by Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel and returned the interception 31 yards for a touchdown.
So much for any doubts about the No. 9 Broncos’ ability to pick themselves up from a crushing defeat.
Minutes later, quarterback Kellen Moore started sealing the deal, firing the first of his three touchdowns in guiding the Broncos to a 50-14 victory in their Western Athletic Conference farewell.
The victory gave Boise State (11-1, 7-1) a share of the conference title and put an exclamation point on a decade of dominance in the WAC. This year’s title is the Broncos’ eighth since joining the WAC in 2001, but they are co-champs this time with Hawaii, which had already laid its claim, and UNR.
It also set the Broncos up for a likely postseason trip to the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas.
■ Connecticut 19, South Florida 16 — At Tampa, Fla., Dave Teggart had four field goals, including a career-long 52-yarder with 17 seconds to play, as the Huskies clinched the Big East’s automatic BCS bowl berth by beating the Bulls (7-5, 3-4).
Lawrence Wilson had an interception return for a touchdown, and Teggart kicked three field goals, including one from 50 yards early in the fourth, to put Connecticut (8-4, 5-2) up 16-6. South Florida then rallied, tying it with 1:16 left on a Maikon Bonani 22-yard field goal.
The Huskies shared the Big East title with No. 23 West Virginia (9-3, 5-2), which rolled over Rutgers 35-14 but lost the BCS tiebreaker to UConn.
■ Central Florida 17, Southern Methodist 7 — Latavius Murray rushed for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns Saturday to lead Central Florida to a 17-7 victory over Southern Methodist (7-6) in the Conference USA championship game.
The Knights (10-3) won their second league title and a trip to the Liberty Bowl.
Brawl breaks out before Southern Cal-UCLA gamePASADENA, Calif. — Authorities said two men were stabbed and two police officers injured in a brawl involving dozens of fans before Southern California’s 28-14 win over UCLA on Saturday.
Pasadena police Cmdr. Darryl Qualls said about 40 fans fought in the Rose Bowl parking lot at about 4:20 p.m. Saturday, three hours before the rival Bruins and Trojans were set to play.
One person was stabbed in the cheek and the other in the back during the melee about three hours before the crosstown-rivalry game between the Bruins and Trojans was set to start, Qualls said. Both were taken by ambulance to Huntington Memorial Hospital. He described their condition as stable.
One man was jailed on suspicion of attempted murder, and two others face charges of assault on a police officer.
Qualls said one officer sprained a hand and another sprained an ankle while responding to the fight. Both were treated at the hospital and released.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
