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PROVO, Utah -- The seniors of the BYU football team, along with some freshmen stars, led the Cougars (6-5, 5-2) to a 40-7 victory over New Mexico (1-10, 1-6) on Saturday night at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

“It was great for our seniors to get a win tonight,” said BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. “I cared more about playing at a higher level for those seniors because of all the time they have put into this program.”

With the win, BYU becomes bowl eligible for the sixth-straight season under Mendenhall.

“There was a time this season that I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with this squad and it seemed daunting to try and recover this team,” Mendenhall said. “It’s taken a lot of thought, prayer and leadership from our coaches. I think this team, this year, has learned more lessons than any other squad I’ve coached in my six years.”

The senior leaders on defense turned in another solid performance with linebacker Shane Hunter totaling 11 tackles, safety Andrew Rich adding two interceptions and cornerback Brandon Bradley recovering a fumble to lead the way for a BYU defense that allowed just 259 total yards and forced four turnovers.

BYU’s trio of talented freshmen all made a big impact for a Cougar team that rolled up 494 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jake Heaps threw for 231 yards on 18-of-31 passing for two touchdowns. Heaps also added his first career rushing touchdown on a one-yard run in the first quarter. Wide receiver Cody Hoffman contributed with five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns and Joshua Quezada had a career high with 107 rushing yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.

“I think our team took a great step forward here today by handling another unique situation and holding down another team that was struggling with their season,” Mendenhall said. “I think they had a great chance to mature and the guys were extremely consistent today.”

Defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna intercepted Lobo quarterback Stump Godfrey on New Mexico’s first possession and returned it 30 yards to the New Mexico 13-yard line. Heaps got the Cougars on the board with a one-yard quarterback keeper for the touchdown. Kicker Mitch Payne converted the PAT attempt to put BYU up 7-0 with 10:01 remaining in the first quarter.

On the ensuing Lobo possession, defensive end Matt Putnam forced a fumble which was recovered by Bradley at the New Mexico 38-yard line. With another short field to work with, the Cougars added a 34-yard field goal from Payne to make it 10-0.

Junior running back JJ Di Luigi scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to add to the Cougar lead on BYU’s first possession not in New Mexico territory. The seven-play, 80-yard drive was highlighted by Quezada rushing three times for 41 yards.

After a stagnant second quarter, BYU got things going on a fourth-down conversion from its own 43-yard line on a gadget play with junior Matt Marshall coming in at quarterback, completing a five-yard pass to sophomore running back David Foote. The drive ended in a 28-yard field goal from Payne to put the Cougars up 20-0 at the half.

Heaps connected with Hoffman on a 17-yard touchdown strike on BYU’s first possession of the second half. The play came immediately after another fourth-down conversion where Heaps found senior Luke Ashworth for a 15-yard gain to move the chains.

The Lobos got on the board with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter when Godfrey found sophomore receiver Quentell Solomon for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Junior James Aho made the PAT attempt to make it 27-7.

BYU added another touchdown on a 14-yard rush from Quezada with 14:10 remaining in the game. Payne connected on the PAT to extend the Cougar lead to 34-7. The senior kicker also passed his brother, Matt Payne, to become the all-time Mountain West Conference leader in kicking points with the conversion.

After the Lobos threatened to score again, Rich intercepted a pass from Godfrey in the end zone. BYU put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive, ending in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Heaps to Hoffman to put the Cougars up 40-7.

BYU travels to Salt Lake City to face the University of Utah to end the 2010 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 1:30 p.m. MT.

New Mexico (1-10,1-5) vs. BYU (6-5,5-2)

Date: Nov 20, 2010 Site: Provo, Utah Stadium: LaVell Edwards

Attendance: 59077

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score

----------------- -- -- -- -- -----

New Mexico.......... 0 0 7 0 - 7

BYU................. 17 3 7 13 - 40

Scoring Summary:

1st 10:01 BY - HEAPS, Jake 1 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 3-12 2:11, NM 0 - BY 7

07:07 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 34 yd field goal, 5-21 0:57, NM 0 - BY 10

02:58 BY - DI LUIGI, JJ 4 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 7-80 2:59, NM 0 - BY 17

2nd 00:35 BY - PAYNE, Mitch 28 yd field goal, 16-84 6:14, NM 0 - BY 20

3rd 09:46 BY - HOFFMAN, Cody 17 yd pass from HEAPS, Jake (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 11-72 5:03, NM 0 - BY 27

04:14 NM - SOLOMON, Quinte 12 yd pass from GODFREY, Stump (AHO, James kick), 13-72 5:25, NM 7 - BY 27

4th 14:10 BY - QUEZADA, Joshua 14 yd run (PAYNE, Mitch kick), 12-82 4:53, NM 7 - BY 34

07:17 BY - HOFFMAN, Cody 10 yd pass from HEAPS, Jake (PAYNE, Mitch kick failed), 10-80 4:58, NM 7 - BY 40

NM BY

FIRST DOWNS................... 20 29

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 31-100 44-258

PASSING YDS (NET)............. 159 236

Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 30-15-3 33-19-0

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 61-259 77-494

Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0

Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-0 2-1

Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-162 2-41

Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 3-53

Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-40.5 3-47.3

Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards............... 5-25 14-141

Possession Time............... 24:40 35:20

Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 11 6 of 13

Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 2 of 2

Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-2 7-7

Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-9 1-10

RUSHING: New Mexico-GODFREY, Stump 14-53; CARRIER, Kasey 15-44; AHO,James 1-4; TEAM 1-minus 1. BYU-QUEZADA, Joshua 15-107; DI LUIGI, JJ 10-65; KARIYA, Bryan 9-58; FOOTE, David 2-8; FOLSOM, Ryan 1-7; LARK, James 2-6; HEAPS, Jake 3-5; FALSLEV, JD 2-2.

PASSING: New Mexico-GODFREY, Stump 9-20-2-125; HOLBROOK, B.R. 6-7-1-34; AUSTIN, Tarean 0-3-0-0. BYU-HEAPS, Jake 18-32-0-231; MARSHALL, Matt 1-1-0-5.

RECEIVING: New Mexico-CARRIER, Kasey 5-22; KIRK, Ty 3-64; REED, Lucas 2-41; WILLIAMS, Bryan 2-10; HERNANDEZ, Chri 2-10; SOLOMON, Quinte 1-12. BYU-HOFFMAN, Cody 5-71; ASHWORTH, Luke 3-41; DI LUIGI, JJ 3-39; MAHINA, Devin 2-24; MUEHLMANN, Mike 1-22; HOLT, Austin 1-17; MENDENHALL, Zed 1-9; KARIYA, Bryan 1-6; FOOTE, David 1-5; QUEZADA, Joshua 1-2.

INTERCEPTIONS: New Mexico-None. BYU-MANUMALEUNA, Ea 1-30; RICH, Andrew 2-23.

FUMBLES: New Mexico-GODFREY, Stump 1-1. BYU-None.

SACKS (UA-A): New Mexico-LATCHISON, Jaym 1-0. BYU-VAN NOY, Kyle 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A): New Mexico-BUTLER, A.J. 10-1; MESSINA, Carmen 6-5; MERRITT, Spence 4-2; FORREST, Bubba 4-2; HARRIS, Joe 3-3; UZODINMA, Ugo 1-4; MILLS, DeShawn 3-1; STONER, Joe 0-4; CARRIER, Kasey 3-0; LYLES, Jamarr 2-1; JOHANNEMANN, Se 2-1; HOOKS, Anthony 2-0; KENNEDY, Brett 1-1; NEELY, Cody 1-1; CARTER, Ravonne 1-1; LATCHISON, Jaym 1-1; SOLOMON, Quinte 1-0; HENTRUP, Garret 1-0; AHO, Andrew 1-0; GARDNER, Peter 1-0; RAYMER, Matt 0-1; MCPHEARSON, Emm 0-1. BYU-HUNTER, Shane 6-5; RICH, Andrew 4-3; LOGAN, Brian 3-3; OGLETREE, Brand 2-4; SO'OTO, Vic 2-4; PUTNAM, Matt 2-1; HESS, Connell 2-1; VAN NOY, Kyle 2-1; JORGENSEN, Aust 2-1; UALE, Travis 0-3; MANUMALEUNA, Ea 2-0; FRAZIER, Jameso 1-1; MENDENHALL, Zek 0-2; BRADLEY, Brando 1-0; HORNUNG, Reed 1-0; WAGNER, Jadon 0-1; ROWLEY, Graham 0-1; ANSAH, Ezekiel 0-1.

Game 10: BYU Cougars vs. New Mexico Lobos

BYU will host New Mexico on Senior Day at 4 p.m. MT on Saturday, Nov. 20. The game will be broadcast live from LaVell Edwards Stadium on The Mtn. and KSL Radio 1160 AM and 102.7 FM.

Tickets for Senior Day are still available. Prices are $10 in the end zone and $20 on the sidelines. CLICK HERE to get yours.

BYU (5-5, 4-2 MWC) vs. New Mexico (1-9, 1-5)

Nov. 20, 2010

4 p.m. MT

LaVell Edwards Stadium

Provo, Utah

THE BYU-NEW MEXICO SERIES

BYU has won 26 of the last 29 meetings between the two teams, including all five under current BYU head coach and previous New Mexico assistant coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Cougars lost 8 of the first 14 games against the Lobos after the series began in 1951, but later reeled off a 16-game win streak lasting most of the 1980s and 90s. New Mexico last defeated BYU in Provo in 2004 by a score of 21-14.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

- BYU enters its game vs. New Mexico with the chance to secure its sixth win of the season an become eligible for a bowl game. It also has the chance to go above .500 for the first time since opening the year 1-0 after a win over Washington.

- BYU is going for its sixth-straight win over the Lobos and stay unbeaten against New Mexico since head coach Bronco Mendenhall took over the Cougar program.

- After averaging 15.2 points over the first five games while starting their year with a 1-4 record, BYU has averaged 31.2 points over the last five games to go 4-1 — the lone setback being at unbeaten TCU. On defense, BYU allowed 28.8 points during its 1-4 start but has improved to allowing 17.8 points over the last five games.

- BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall was an assistant coach at New Mexico from 1998-02 under head coach Rocky Long before being hired at BYU.

Senior Day

The following seniors will be honored following the end of the game:

Nick Alletto, OL

Luke Ashworth, WR

Brandon Bradley, DB

Shane Hunter, LB

Landon Jaussi, S

Brian Logan, DB

Zeke Mendenhall, LB

Mitch Payne, K

BJ Peterson, WR

Andrew Rich, S

Vic So'oto, DL

Jason Speredon, OL

AJ Van Valkenburg, LB

ALL BUT PERFECT

BYU finished the game at CSU going 12-of-13 (.923) on third-down conversions, the first time BYU has had a third down conversion of over 80-percent since going 12-of-14 (.857) at Washington in 2008. On the one failed third-down

attempt, BYU still converted the ensuing fourth-down. As part of the third-down proficiency, BYU did not punt the entire game, accomplishing the feat for the first time since playing at Tulane in 2009.

MOVE FORWARD, NOT BACKWARD

As a team, the Cougars are one of the least penalized squads in the nation, averaging 36.8 penalty yards per game, good for 9th in the nation and first in the MWC. BYU also averages just 4.8 penalties per game, 13th among all FBS schools and third in the MWC. Against Nevada, BYU had a season-low one turnover for minus-5 yards.

FIVE COUGARS HONORED THIS WEEK

Based on their performances last week in a 49-10 win at Colorado State, three BYU players won MWC weekly awards, the second time this season a school has swept all three awards in one week. Senior wide receiver Luke Ashworth won

Offensive Player of the Week, senior safety Andrew Rich was named Defensive Player of the Week and senior kicker Mitch Payne took the Special Teams Player of the Year honor. Ashworth is the first Cougar to be named Offensive POW

since ; it is his first such award. Rich, honored for the second time in his career, is the second Cougar this season to be named Defensive POW--BYU has taken the award the last two weeks. Payne, also awarded for the second time in his career, is the third Special Teams POW from BYU to be honored by the MWC.

In addition, Ashworth was named the College Sports Performance Wide Receiver of the Week, his first national award. Freshman quarterback Jake Heaps and sophomore punter Riley Stephenson were also each honored with CPF honorable mentions.

NO RUNNING START

BYU’s defense has been stout against the run of late and particularly setting the tone to open the game. In the last five games the Cougars have held their opponents to first quarter rushing totals of minus-10 (SDSU), 20 (TCU), minus-31 (Wyoming), zero (UNLV) and 8 (CSU) yards, respectively.

For the complete BYU vs. New Mexico game notes, see the attached PDF file.