LARAMIE FORT WORTH, Texas — Jordan Wynn passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Asiata ran for 109 yards and No. 11 Utah remained unbeaten with a 30-6 win over Wyoming on Saturday.
The Utes were held below their 49-point scoring average mostly due to three interceptions thrown by Wynn, including two in the end zone. But they still had no problem with Wyoming.
The Utes (6-0, 3-0 Mountain West) now will be heavily favored next week against Colorado State before testing their BCS credentials against No. 23 Air Force, No. 4 TCU and Notre Dame.
All five of Wyoming’s losses have come against teams ranked in the Top 25. The Cowboys have played the third-toughest schedule in the nation, according to Sagarin computer ratings.
“The good news is that it’s the last top 25 team on our schedule,” Wyoming coach Dave Christensen said. “Our kids will continue to work hard and will do everything to prepare for BYU.”
Wyoming (2-5, 0-3) ended an eight-quarter scoring drought and scored its first fourth-quarter points this season when backup quarterback Dax Crum threw a 10-yard TD pass.
Shaky Smithson, who entered the game third in the nation in punt return average, added to his sparkling stats by returning four punts for 111 yards, a 27.8-yard average.
Quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, who missed last week’s loss at TCU because of an injury, passed for 84 yards and rushed for another 27 to lead an anemic Wyoming offense that managed just 183 yards.
“We talk about finishing all the time,” Cowboys wide receiver David Leonard said. “We were moving the ball down the field, and when we get to the red zone we have to do a better job of punching it in. The fact of the matter is that we didn’t execute when we needed to.”
No. 4 TCU 31, BYU 3 Andy Dalton threw four touchdown passes, including two barely a minute apart late in the first half, and the Horned Frogs narrowly missed a third consecutive shutout.
The Frogs led just 3-0 with two minutes left before halftime when a sack forced the Cougars to punt from their 4-yard line. Given good field position, Dalton found Josh Boyce on a 35-yard score two plays later.
TCU (7-0, 3-0) got the ball right back on an interception, and Dalton hit a wide-open Jimmy Young in the end zone for a 14-yard score that made it 17-0 with 26 seconds left in the half.
BYU (2-5, 1-2) had just 14 total yards in the first half but ended TCU’s shutout streak at 10 quarters with a 70-yard drive to a short field goal late in the third. BYU finished with 147 total yards, the third straight time and fourth overall that TCU’s nation-leading defense held an opponent to less than 200 yards.
The Cougars didn’t cross midfield until the shutout-ending, field-goal drive.
Dalton went 24-of-36 for 273 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He has now thrown for 992 yards at home, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
