Utah took a 14-0 advantage into the second quarter. Just five seconds later, the Utes extended their lead when Johnson connected with David Reed on a 32-yard touchdown pass. Brent Casteel set things up with a 41-yard punt return.

Leading 21-0, Utah faced some adversity after forcing the Aztecs to punt and embarking on their fourth offensive series.

Unlike the previous possessions, this one didn't end with a score. SDSU cornerback Jose Perez grabbed a Johnson pass intended for Godfrey and returned the interception nine yards to the Utah 41.

The Aztecs cashed in on the turnover two plays later when quarterback Ryan Lindley completed a 31-yard touchdown toss to receiver Darren Mougey.

With its lead cut to 21-7, Utah fired back twice before the half was complete. The Utes capped a pair of 11-play drives with short touchdown passes — a 5-yarder from Johnson to Brown with 5:11 to go and a 3-yard throw from Johnson to Reed with 15 seconds remaining.

The outburst gave Utah a commanding 35-7 halftime lead. The Utes' highest first-half point total of the season was backed by significant numbers — 298 yards of total offense, 18 first downs and a 8-for-8 success on third downs.

The defense, meanwhile, limited SDSU to 148 yards, eight first downs and only one third-down conversion in five attempts.

The Aztecs fared better in the third quarter, though.

After stopping Johnson for no gain on a fourth-and-1 run on the 5- yard line, they put together a lengthy, time-consuming drive against the Utah defense. A 16-yard touchdown throw from Lindley to Justin Shaw late in the third quarter concluded a 17-play journey that took more than seven minutes off the clock.

The score helped SDSU close the gap to 35-14, although it didn't stay that way for long.

In a span of less than eight minutes in the fourth quarter, Utah retaliated and added comfort to its already comfortable lead. Following 1-yard touchdown runs by Matt Asiata and Ray Stowers, defensive back Deshawn Richard returned two interceptions for scores.

He went 89 yards on the first "pick six" and 38 yards on the second one.

Sakoda then capped all scoring with his school-record tying ninth successful extra-point kick to cap all scoring in the Utes' widest margin of victory this season.

The loss dropped SDSU to 1-10 overall and 0-7 in conference play.

"I don't have much to say. I feel extremely bad for this football team. I feel bad for guys on this team to have to go through something like this. This was a tough night," said Aztecs coach Chuck Long. "Utah is good, but we also made them look good."

Utah has now won a share of four MWC titles. The first came in 1999, the league's inaugural season, when the Utes shared it with BYU and Colorado State.

"We've got another game in the season," Whittingham said. "And obviously we want to finish the deal."

Even so, Utah won't alter its approach.

"It's like any other week. We focus week-to-week," he explained. "It's not like we were sitting here waiting to focus on the BYU game.

"We take it one at a time, and they happen to be this week."

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E-mail: dirk@desnews.com