Dec 19, 2015 4 min read

LAS VEGAS – Utah took advantage of a disastrous start by BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, scoring five first-quarter touchdowns on turnovers -including two interceptions by Tevin Carter – before holding on to beat the Cougars 35-28 on Saturday.

Carter returned one of the picks for a touchdown and another to the 1 as No. 20 Utah romped to a 35-0 first-quarter lead in the first meeting of the two heated rivals outside of the state of Utah. BYU turned the ball over the first five times it had the ball, with freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum throwing three interceptions and fumbling once.

That was all the scoring Utah (10-3) did, and it nearly cost the Utes the game. Mangum would bring BYU (9-4) back, throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another with 3:23 left to get the Cougars within one score, but BYU never got the ball back.

Bronco Mendenhall’s last game as BYU coach was almost over even before some of the fans settled into their seats, thanks to an opportunistic Utah defense that forced Mangum to fumble on the third play of the game. Midway through the first quarter, the Utes were already up 28-0.

Mendenhall, who is leaving BYU (9-4) after 11 seasons to coach at Virginia, failed in his try at win No. 100 at the school. Mendenhall, who wanted to coach the bowl game before leaving, finished his BYU career with a 99-43 record.

Arizona 45, New Mexico 37: Anu Solomon threw two touchdowns passes and ran for another score to help Arizona hold off pesky New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.

Arizona (7-6) and its quick offense overwhelmed the Lobos (7-6) in a game that saw New Mexico surge late after being down as many of 18 points.

Jared Baker ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns, and Cayleb Jones had 182 yards receiving and a touchdown. Linebacker Scooby Wright III, who battled injures all season, came back for the bowl game and had two sacks and 11 solo tackles. After the game, Wright announced he would enter the NFL draft.

New Mexico quarterback Lamar Jordan rushed for three touchdowns and threw a 92-yard touchdown pass to Delane Hart-Johnson before leaving the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. Arizona held star running back Jhurell Pressley to 75 yards rushing and no touchdowns.

North Carolina A&T 41, Alcorn St. 34: Tarik Cohen rushed for 295 yards and touchdowns of 83, 74 and 73 yards Saturday, and North Carolina A&T used a slew of big plays for a 41-34 win over Alcorn State in the Celebration Bowl at the Georgia Dome.

The Celebration Bowl, matching champions of the two historically black Division-I conferences, had four scoring plays in the first quarter cover a combined 315 yards.

Appalachian State 31, Ohio 29: Zach Matics capped a wild Camellia Bowl with a 23-yard field goal on the final play to lift Appalachian State to a 31-29 victory over Ohio.

Northwest Missouri State 34, Shepherd 7: Brady Bolles threw for 233 yards and a touchdown to lead Northwest Missouri State to its fifth NCAA Division II title Saturday, 34-7 over Shepherd at Sporting Park.

Bolles completed 20 of 27 passes. The Bearcats (15-0) used two turnovers and a big play to open a 24-0 first-half lead, then coasted in the second half against overmatched Shepherd (13-1).

Defensive end Collin Bevins had four sacks to break the school record for sacks in a season with 15 ½. The Bearcats had 10 sacks in the game.

Mount Union 49, St. Tomas of Minnesota 35: Mount Union is back on top of Division III football, and coach Vince Kehres finally has one of his own.

Taurice Scott threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and Mount Union won its NCAA-best 12th football title, beating St. Thomas of Minnesota 49-35 on Friday night in the Division III championship game.It was the Purple Raiders’ 11th consecutive appearance in the game, but the first time in the last three years with Kehres as the coach that they came out on top.

Jacksonville State 62, Sam Houston 10: Troymaine Pope ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns to punch Jacksonville State’s ticket to the FCS Championship game, leading the Gamecocks in a 62-10 drubbing of Sam Houston State.

Jacksonville State will play in the FCS Championship Jan. 9 in Frisco, Texas against North Dakota State.