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BOX SCORE
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Thanks to guys like Hans Olsen and Rob Morris,
Brigham Young's defense is starting to get some notoriety.
Olsen, a nephew of Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, returned a fumble
24 yards for a touchdown and Kevin Feterik threw for two touchdowns
as Brigham Young (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) beat San Diego State 30-7 Saturday night.
|  | | Luke Staley dives into the end zone for BYU's first touchdown. |
The victory, coupled with Wyoming's 43-29 win over Utah, assured
Brigham Young of no worse than a tie for the first Mountain West
Conference championship and a berth in either the Liberty or Las
Vegas Bowl.
BYU (8-1, 5-0) spotted SDSU a 7-0 lead, but the Cougars rallied to win their
sixth straight overall and fifth straight against the Aztecs (3-6,
1-4).
BYU's defense, ranked 11th nationally, came up big for a second
straight year against SDSU, forcing five turnovers that led to 10
points and getting six sacks.
The big play came when Morris, a linebacker, sacked Jack Hawley
and forced a fumble, which the 6-foot-5, 290-pound Olsen picked up
and returned down the left sideline for a 20-7 lead with 13:11 left
in the third quarter. It was the first career TD for the junior
tackle.
"This is the first time I've ever had a ball in my hands during
a game," Olsen said. "I was doing everything to keep from being
hit because I knew if I was going to get hit, the ball was going to
come out like a banana.
"I had my whole family here so it was nice to be able to get in
the end zone with it."
Morris didn't realize at first that he'd caused a fumble.
"I turned around about three seconds later and there's Hans, it
took him 15 seconds to get to the end zone, 20 yards," he said.
"When the defense scores, that's a bonus. Especially when a
lineman scores because they don't get a lot of glory. That's
awesome. I got my touchdown last year, so it's good to see those
guys get one."
Morris recovered two fumbles, including one in the second
quarter, setting up the first of three field goals by Owen Pochman,
a 23-yarder.
Olsen and Morris each had 1½ sacks. Last year, Morris had 10
unassisted tackles in BYU's 13-0 win over San Diego State.
"If we were going to beat a team like that, we had to be
error-free," said Ted Tollner, who dropped to 1-12 against ranked
opponents in six seasons as Aztecs coach. "That was our only
chance."
Feterik threw a 20-yard pass to Luke Staley for BYU's first
score and a 15-yarder to Margin Hooks for its final score. He was
21-of-32 for 261 yards, with two interceptions. BYU gained only 30
rushing yards.
This was BYU's first visit to San Diego since 1993, when it beat
San Diego State 45-44, then returned for its 11th Holiday Bowl
appearance, losing to Ohio State.
BYU started slowly, with just one first down and 33 yards in the
first quarter. San Diego State took a 7-0 lead on Hawley's 9-yard
run with 3:22 left in the quarter, capping a drive set up by Bishop
Miller's interception.
BYU tied it on Feterik's screen pass to Staley with 8:08 left in the first half.
Morris' recovery of Larry Ned's fumble, forced by Byron Frisch, was the third turnover in as many plays, giving the Cougars the ball on the SDSU 8. BYU had to settle for Pochman's 23-yard field
goal, even though it had first-and-goal from the 2 following Aazaar Abdul-Rahim's pass interference penalty in the end zone.
After San Diego State's Nate Tandberg missed a 50-yard field
goal try, Feterik's passing set up Pochman's 27-yard field goal as
time expired for a 13-7 halftime lead. Feterik completed four
straight passes for 65 yards before getting shaken up and leaving
for one play.
Pochman kicked a 42-yard field goal late in the third quarter,
and Hooks' TD catch came midway through the fourth.
Hawley was taken out after his fumble. Tollner said he was told by team doctors that Hawley separated a shoulder when he was sacked in the second quarter, but played three more series. He was 9-of-20 for 98 yards, with one interception.
Later, a school spokesman said the trainer called the injury a sprain.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
BYU Clubhouse
San Diego State Clubhouse
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