SALT LAKE CITY — As a smattering of TCU fans chanted his name, quarterback Andy Dalton ran into the visitors locker room satisfied that the Horned Frogs had made a statement.
“We showed we can play with anybody,” he said.
Dalton passed for a career- high 355 yards and three touchdowns, and the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs turned the biggest game in Mountain West Conference history into a 47-7 demolition of No. 6 Utah on Saturday.
From the opening drive, TCU looked every bit like a team worthy of busting into the BCS championship game.
Dalton passed for two first- quarter TDs, and receiver Jeremy Kerley, a QB in high school, also threw a TD pass as TCU jumped out to an early 20-0 lead, quieting a sellout crowd clad almost entirely in black for the “blackout” showdown.
By halftime, the Horned Frogs had outgained Utah 328-72 en route to a 23-0 lead.
They finished with an advantage in every statistical category: first downs (23-11), rushing yards (177-51), passing yards (381-148) and third-down conversions (67 percent to 23 percent) .
“They smoked us. It’s disheartening. We got killed,” Utah defensive end Christian Cox said.
The loss snapped Utah’s 21-game home winning streak and dashed any hopes the Utes had at being a BCS buster for the third time.
Utah’s Jordan Wynn struggled to get anything going against TCU’s No. 1-ranked defense. He started 5-of-12 for 42 yards with a sack and a fumble, then opened the second half with an underthrown pass that Tanner Brock intercepted and returned 57 yards to the Utah 4, setting up another TCU TD.
New Mexico 34, Wyoming 31
ALBUQUERQUE — James Aho kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired, and New Mexico ended a nine-game losing streak.
UNM’s Stump Godfrey, in his first start for the Lobos, completed 16-of-20 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns — both to Lucas Reed, who finished with seven catches for 100 yards.
UNM had lost 23 of its past 24 games, but it forced four turnovers, three coming deep in its own end and one deep in the Cowboys’ end.
The Cowboys held a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter after Alvester Alexander, who finished with 151 yards and three touchdowns, took it 94 yards for a score.
The Lobos, however, rallied behind Reed’s 4-yard, one- handed touchdown reception, then an interception from Bubba Forrest at the UNM 2.
BYU 55, UNLV 7
PROVO, Utah — Freshman Joshua Quezada scored the first three rushing touchdowns of his career, and BYU’s defense throttled UNLV.
UNLV managed only 144 yards of offense, 70 of them on the Rebels’ final drive of the game. The Associated Press
