Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
IDAHO: It was a long time coming, but finally the Vandals broke into the win
column on Saturday as they defeated New Mexico State in Western Athletic
Conference action, 26-18, at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. Kicker Trey Farquhar
played a major role in the outcome as he knocked through all four of his field
goal attempts in the outing. Aside from an early interception, quarterback
Dominique Blackman played well also with 304 yards and a couple of touchdowns
on 26-of-48 passing. Jahrie Level caught eight balls for 92 yards and a score
in order to help compensate for a lackluster rushing attack which generated a
mere 82 yards on 28 attempts. The Vandals hit the road this coming weekend to
take on one of the newcomers to the WAC in Texas State, marking the first-ever
meeting between the two schools on the football field.
LOUISIANA TECH: The Bulldogs put together yet another exciting offensive
effort on Saturday night in Ruston, as Kenneth Dixon ran for four touchdowns
in a 58-31 romp over UNLV in non-conference play at Aillet Stadium. Dixon
carried the ball 16 times for the Bulldogs as they remained perfect on the
season and ran their regular-season win streak to 12 games in a row. Ray
Holley led all ball carriers with 139 yards and scored once on 22 attempts.
Quarterback Colby Cameron converted 31-of-45 passes for 316 yards and a score
for the hosts. Now ranked third in the country in scoring with an average of
53.2 ppg, head coach Sonny Dykes has the Bulldogs off to their best start
since 1975, and that has also earned the team a spot in the AP Top-25 this
week (No. 23) for the first time since 1999. The Bulldogs were supposed to
have a bye this coming week before diving into the Western Athletic Conference
schedule against Idaho on Oct. 20, but instead the team is taking on a Texas
A&M squad that was originally scheduled for Aug. 30 before potentially poor
weather conditions postponed the meeting until now. LaTech has taken on the
Aggies 10 times previously and lost each of those encounters, so maybe the
Bulldogs are finally due to break through.
NEW MEXICO STATE: Andrew Manley threw for a touchdown and ran for another on
Saturday, but his efforts were still not enough to keep the Aggies from
falling to Idaho, 26-18, in Western Athletic Conference action at the Kibbie
Dome in Moscow. Manley completed 28-of-45 passes for 309 yards, was sacked
twice and had two passes picked off in the team's fifth straight loss. Austin
Franklin recorded a fourth straight 100-yard receiving game and the fifth in
six tries this year with 115 yards on nine catches, but still the squad has
lost eight consecutive games against members of the Football Bowl Subdivision
dating back to last season. New Mexico State is now ranked 117th in the nation
in rushing (85.7 ypg) and is 113th in sacks allowed (3.5 per game), which
doesn't help matters when Manley is trying desperately to put together
successful drives. Enjoying their first open date of the 2012 season this
week, the Aggies get some time off before visiting Utah State on Oct. 20 for a
WAC battle in Logan.
SAN JOSE STATE: Back in action this coming weekend after a bye, the Spartans
go after the Utah State Aggies in Western Athletic Conference play in
California. Riding a four-game win streak, SJSU owns a 20-13-1 edge in a
series that dates back to 1940 according to Spartan records. However, San Jose
State has lost the last three meetings with USU, the most recent coming last
season by a score of 34-33 on the road in Logan. The Spartans need just one
more win to match their entire total from 2011 when they finished 5-7 and were
3-4 in conference play. While it is still early in the campaign, the Spartans
are ranked second in the country in sacks with 4.4 per game, their total of 22
through five contests already ahead of the 16 sacks they recorded all of last
year.
TEXAS STATE: The Bobcats lost their second straight outing on Saturday and the
third in the last four games when they bowed to New Mexico, 35-14, in
Albuquerque. Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione, who was in charge of
the UNM program from 1992-97, saw his squad produce just 248 yards of total
offense as it turned the ball over four times in the setback. Starting
quarterback Shaun Rutherford completed 16-of-21 passes for 186 yards and two
touchdowns, but he was picked off once and sacked five times before giving way
to Tyler Arndt who converted 5-of-13 attempts for 30 yards with two
interceptions of his own. While the Texas State defense was allowing the Lobos
to generate a hefty 361 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, the Bobcats
managed just 32 net yards on 20 carries. Texas State is back home for the
fourth time in the last five games this weekend as it entertains the Idaho
Vandals in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO: Getting back to work this week, the Roadrunners try to
remain perfect on the season as they clash with the Rice Owls in non-
conference action on the road. This is just the second season for UTSA
football, which means many opponents on the 2012 schedule are brand new foes
and that includes the Owls. The Roadrunners have one of the longest win
streaks in the nation at the moment, having run off six consecutive victories
dating back to last season.
UTAH STATE: The Aggies went into last week averaging 28.2 ppg, third-best in
the WAC, but the team's offense was nowhere to be found as the squad came up
short in a 6-3 final against BYU in Provo. Utah State was held to a mere 243
yards of total offense, a far cry from the unit's 452.2 ypg heading into the
matchup. Quarterback Chuckie Keeton converted 22-of-38 passes for 202 yards,
but his longest was just 16 yards and he was sacked three times in the outing.
Kerwynn Williams, one of the most exciting players in the league, was held to
just 18 yards rushing on 14 carries and he caught five passes for another 39
yards in the loss. The Aggies get back to playing on Saturdays this week as
they make the trip to San Jose State to challenge the Spartans in WAC action.
Utah State trails in the all-time series by a count of 20-13-1, but the Aggies
are the ones who have rattled off three straight wins in the relationship,
including a 34-33 final last season at home.
The Sports Network