BYU football: Running backs carry Cougars, break streak

BYU-SDSU boxscore

PROVO — During his years at BYU, senior safety Andrew Rich has helped defeat nationally ranked Oklahoma and archrival Utah.

But as far as Rich is concerned, the Cougars' hard-fought 24-21 homecoming victory Saturday over San Diego State is "the biggest win of my career here at BYU."

It's not hard to see why.

Coming into the contest, everything seemed to be in disarray. The Cougars were mired in a four-game losing streak and off to their worst start in 37 years. A week earlier, coach Bronco Mendenhall had fired defensive coordinator Jaime Hill. It wasn't certain that Rich, who suffered a neck and shoulder injury in the loss at Utah State, would play against SDSU.

Not only did Rich play, but he and his teammates displayed an emotion and intensity unlike anything seen in recent weeks.

"I don't even feel anything physically right now. I'm just so happy," Rich said. "The adrenaline of winning supersedes any physical pain that I could be feeling."

For BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, who took over defensive coordinator duties this week, it was a gratifying performance from his players.

"On this day," he said, "they played BYU football."

The Cougars controlled the time of possession and controlled the game. They improved to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West Conference play while the Aztecs dropped to 3-2 and 0-1.

BYU rendered national statistics meaningless. The Cougars ranked last in the nation in rushing defense, yet allowed only 53 yards on the ground. BYU held freshman running back Ronnie Hillman, who was averaging 133 yards per game, to only 62.

Meanwhile, the BYU offense rushed for 271 yards on 62 attempts, held the ball for 45 minutes and converted 12-of-19 third-down attempts. Running back JJ Di Luigi rushed for a career-high 134 yards.

Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps, who completed 15-of-22 passes for 126 yards and an interception, praised the offensive line.

"If you guys don't put this in the paper, you're crazy," he said. "The offensive line was amazing. I'm so lucky to be part of this group. They got after it today."