Colorado State Beats New Mexico for WAC Title

Kevin McDougal ran for touchdowns of 42, 44 and 66 yards in the second half and No. 20 Colorado State took advantage of three consecutive fourth-quarter turnovers to beat New Mexico, 41-13, Saturday at Las Vegas and win the Western Athletic Conference championship.

McDougal ran for 255 yards in 20 carries, capping the scoring with his 66-yard touchdown run with 1:48 left as the Rams broke open a close game with 24 fourth-quarter points before a sparse crowd of 12,706 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Colorado State (10-2), which came into the game with the nation’s best turnover ratio, used an interception and two fumble recoveries on consecutive series in the fourth quarter for 17 of those points.

It was the eighth consecutive win for Colorado State (10-2), which earned a berth in the Holiday Bowl. New Mexico (9-3) will go to the Insight.com Bowl in Tucson.

“This is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Colorado State Coach Sonny Lubick said after the Rams won the WAC title for the third time in the last four years.

New Mexico was playing for its first WAC title since 1971.

Navy 39, Army 7--Quarterback Chris McCoy ended five years of frustration for Navy and capped a record-setting career by rushing for 205 yards and three touchdowns as the Midshipmen (7-5) sailed past the Cadets (4-7) at East Rutherford, N.J.

McCoy scored on runs of one, two and one yards and added a late scoring pass as Navy scored on six of its first seven possessions in denying Army what would have been a record-setting sixth straight victory in the series.

OTHER GAMES

Mike MacKenzie rushed for 163 yards and Rex Prescott for 124 as Eastern Washington (12-1) recorded a 38-21 victory over Western Kentucky (10-2) in a Division I-AA quarterfinal at Spokane, Wash. Each player also scored two touchdowns. . . . Jerod Jones’ 69-yard interception return for a touchdown and Donnie Ashley’s punt return for another score was all McNeese State (12-2) of Lake Charles, La., needed for a 14-12 victory over Western Illinois (11-2) in a I-AA quarterfinal at Macomb, Ill. . . . Craig Cummings ran for a touchdown and Sean Leach kicked three field goals as Delaware (12-1) advanced in I-AA with a 16-7 victory over Georgia Southern (10-3) at Newark, Del. . . . Mark Griffith kicked a 28-yard field goal to break a fourth-quarter tie and Youngstown State (11-2) of Ohio held on for a 37-34 victory over No. 1-ranked Villanova (12-1) in a I-AA quarterfinal at Villanova, Pa.

Three touchdowns by Adam Roman and a big play defense that forced four turnovers led New Haven (12-1) to a 27-25 victory over UC Davis (9-5) in a Division II semifinal at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. The Chargers will meet Northern Colorado in the title game next Saturday at Florence, Ala. . . . Mike Schauer kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:03 left to give Northern Colorado (12-2) a 30-29 victory over host Carson-Newman (11-1) in a Division II semifinal at Jefferson City, Tenn.

College Football Note

Dave Arslanian, who has directed Division I-AA Weber State’s football program for nine seasons, was named coach at I-A Utah State. Arslanian, 48, replaces John L. Smith, who was named Louisville’s coach on Nov. 24.