If not for a three-play stretch at the beginning of the fourth quarter, BYU may have gone down to its second straight defeat to the Miners in El Paso. With the score knotted at 14 and momentum swinging to the home team, UTEP mounted a drive deep into Cougar territory. On fourth down-and-1 on the 20-yard line, the Miners - whose kicker had not converted on two tries, including one block - decided to go for it instead of risking a field goal. With the entire Cougar defense stacked in the box, UTEP called a fullback dive into the center of the line. BYU stuffed the runner and took over on downs. "We were expecting them to run the ball right where they did," lineman Darren Yancy said. "If they had watched any film they should have known that we had been beat twice in the last two weeks by big quarterbacks going over the middle. I think they screwed up on that one." On the next play, Ronney Jenkins took a handoff 79 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. After the kickoff, on the Miners' first play from scrimmage, Yancy and the defense smacked the ball loose from the UTEP quarterback deep in his own territory, setting up a touchdown run by Junior Mahe on the next snap of the ball.

After running for just 23 yards in the first half, Ronney Jenkins exploded in the second with 150 more, including a 79-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter that blew the game open for BYU. "This game had been on our minds for a while," Jenkins said, referring to last season's 14-3 loss to UTEP. "We needed to settle down and play our game, which we did there at the end."

Jenkins had plenty of motivation to perform well vs. UTEP. Besides the fact that he had a chance to pass the 1,000-yard mark for the season (which he did, finishing the game with 1,078 yards on the season) Jenkins had dedicated the game to a young friend who is sick in the hospital. "I don't want to go into any details," Jenkins said, "but I wanted to do real good for him." With his 176 yards, Jenkins became only the fifth Cougar running back to top the 1,000-yard mark for a season.

Entering Saturday's game, BYU was ranked No. 6 in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 86 yards per game. Though the Miners seemed to run well at times, the Cougars allowed just 73 yards on the ground. But statistics can be deceiving, even to those involved: Darren Yancy thought UTEP had rushed for at least 100 yards. "They were really good at running the ball," he said.

So far this season, the third quarter had been especially friendly to BYU. Before the UTEP game, the Cougars had out-scored their opponents by a 114-12 margin. The Miners proved to be the toughest third quarter-opponent yet, matching BYU 7-7 in that period.

A blitzing Miner defense kept quarterback Kevin Feterik scrambling for most of the game. But Feterik, who has been gaining confidence throughout the current six-game winning streak, made the most of each scramble. "Kevin did a nice job of making plays when he was flushed out of the pocket," coach LaVell Edwards said. Among the plays that earned the lefty such praise were two third-and-long completions and a third-quarter touchdown, all while he was on the move avoiding the rush.

Feterik's main target on those scrambling plays was freshman Mike Rigell, who came up with several key first-down receptions and that third-quarter touchdown to tie the score at 14. Rigell has been on a tear of late, averaging over 20 yards per catch to go along with his 29-yard kickoff return average and 4 touchdowns. "It just happened to work again tonight," he said. "I just try to make the catch, and God bless, I was able to."

INJURY UPDATE: As the Cougars prepare to face their most bitter rival, Utah, they will be anxious to find out the status of several key defensive players. Three of BYU's mainstays in the defensive backfield played in the game vs. UTEP but left with injuries. Cornerback Brian Gray and safeties Jason Walker and Tyler Nelson are the question marks. "That's one thing we have to see about," coach Edwards said. "Hopefully they will be back." Though the Utes are known for their excellent running attack, they do have several quality receivers that - if Gray, Walker and Nelson aren't able to play - could make life miserable for BYU's second-string secondary.

             1st  2nd  3rd  4th   f
     cougars  0    7    7   17    31
     miners   7    0    7    0    14
                              byu  31
                              utep 14  final

1st quarter
    utep - Paul Smith 12-yard run
           (Ricky Bishop kick)

2nd quarter
    byu - Tevita Ofahengaue 10-yard catch from Feterik 
          (Pochman kick)

3rd quarter
    utep - Keonta Golson 61-yard catch from John Rayborn  
          (Bishop kick)
    byu - Mike Rigell 8-yard catch from Feterik 
          (Pochman kick)

4th quarter
    byu - Ronney Jenkins 80-yard run (Pochman kick)
    byu - Junior Mahe 6-yard run (Pochman kick)
    byu - Pochman 35-yard field goal

                            Byu Texas El Paso 
First downs                  25          13 
Rushed-yards             45-259       32-73 
Passing yards               185         254 
Sacked-yards lost          2-19        2-13 
Return yards                  1          19 
Passes                  17-25-1     14-26-1 
Punts                    4-41.8      5-33.4 
Fumbles-lost                1-1         1-1 
Penalties-yards            5-40        4-44 
Time of possession        34:26       25:34

Individual Statistics:
RUSHING: Byu-Jenkins 21-176, Snowden 6-31, Mahe 6-30, Cupp 3-28, Sitake 2-8, Feterik 7-minus 14. Texas El Paso-P Smith 9-42, Polk 19-36, J Rayborn 3-0, Perez 1-minus 5.

PASSING: Byu-Feterik 17-25-1-185. Texas El Paso-J Rayborn 12-21-0-198, Perez 1-4-1-20, Golson 1-1-0-36.

RECEIVING: Byu-Rigell 4-67, Cupp 4-38, Hooks 3-30, Ofahengauo 3-23, Atuaia 1-14, C Ellison 1-10, Jenkins 1-3. Texas El Paso-Carpenter 4-80, Natkin 4-52, Golson 3-107, Mays 2-11, P Smith 1-4.

Att: 19,307

The rout is on as the Miners' Rocky Perez is picked off by Brad Martin after Hans Olsen hits Perez on the release. From there, the Cougars run out the clock behind the running of backup Will Snowden.
(Source: Blue & White Sports Network)